Joshua McNiven
BIO
Education
BM Florida Southern College
MM Michigan State University
MM Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
DMA Michigan State University
Classes Taught
Aural Training I - IV
Chamber Music
About
Joshua McNiven is a low brass musician and teacher based in Chicago. He joined the DePaul faculty in January 2025 teaching freshman and sophomore aural training courses and has served as a chamber coach since September 2025. He holds a doctorate degree in euphonium performance and a master’s degree in music theory from Michigan State University. His previous degrees include a master’s degree in music performance from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, UK and a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL.
Passionate about the British brass band tradition, Joshua has performed in the Brass Band National Championship at Royal Albert Hall, London in 2018 during his studies in the UK. He also performed with the City of Cardiff Brass Band, RWCMD Brass Band, as solo euphonium with Llwydcoed Brass Band, and recently held the solo baritone chair with the championship section Chicago Brass Band. He has competed in several international solo competitions including as a euphonium semifinalist in the Jeju International Brass Competition on Jeju Island, South Korea (2022) and as a euphonium semifinalist in the International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Valencia, Spain (2025).
Joshua’s previous research has focused on narrative and storytelling in music. His dissertation “Stories for Saroyan: Elgar Howarth’s Unknown Autobiography” focused on using musical ekphrasis and topic theory to explain how Howarth’s euphonium concerto serves as an autobiographical work. He believes in accessibility of music theory and tries to incorporate it as an area of connection and interest between performer and audience.
As a chamber musician, Joshua serves as founder and tubist for Gold Coast Brass; a professional brass quintet formed in early 2026. While in its infancy, this ensemble will provide listeners with accessible opportunities to experience new chamber music in an intimate way. The ensemble rehearses out of and will perform future concerts and recitals at St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Chicago.
In the classroom, Joshua is passionate about bridging the gap between music theory and other areas of music. He focuses on students understanding music theory as a set of tools they can regularly draw from in their careers in music. While this focus has primarily been on performance and education, he enjoys working with students in the Performing Arts Management and Sound Recording Technology majors at DePaul University and enjoys incorporating diverse genres of music as examples in the classroom.