I was born in Stratford-on-Avon, England, and received my education at Winchester College. Beginning my musical studies at the age of nine on the violin, I soon found the guitar and lute to be my instruments of choice. While still in my teens, I studied at the Spanish Guitar Centre in London and attended the course "Musica en Compostela” in Spain. Living in Spain for three more years, I studied and mastered the classical guitar under the tutelage of Maestro Jose Tomas, one of Andres Segovia's most outstanding pupils.

My concert appearances range from New York's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, to London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, and The Sidney Opera House, touring extensively in the US, Canada, Great Britain, throughout Europe, Sweden, Greece, New Zealand, and Australia. I've performed with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Seacliff Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and numerous other orchestras around the world.

I've worked with and composed for many theatre companies

Guitarist Joel Brown's actively eclectic performances as a soloist and chamber musician have included appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood, the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, the Caramoore Festival, and the Killington Festival. Internationally, he has played in British Columbia at the Music in the Mountains Chamber Music Festival, in the Czech Republic at the Mikulov Guitar Festival as concerto soloist with the Martinu Chamber Orchestra, and in Asia with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Notable appearances in the United States include Carnegie Hall with soprano Dawn Upshaw, recitals on both coasts with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, and with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Brown has also performed on NBC’s Today, CNN’s Showbiz Today, on NPR, and on the BBC.