Romel Joseph

Joseph was born in Gros Mornes, Haiti, the middle of five kids.[3][4] He was raised by Anglican nuns at the St. Vincent School for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, including the school's director, Sister Joan Margaret.[4][5] Born with congenital cataracts, a condition that left him with less than 10% vision even after corrective surgery in 1980, Joseph earned a Fulbright scholarship despite his handicap and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1982[6] and a Master of Arts in violin performance from Juilliard School of Music.[2][5][7][8] He also studied with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Berkshire Music Center.[4][5]

Joseph worked as the music director at the St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children where he had attended as a child.[8] He founded The New Victorian School in Port-au-Prince in 1991.[1] In 1996, he founded and served as executive director of the Walenstein Musical Organization, a non-profit that provides music education, training, and performance opportunities to children in South Florida.[2][9] He was also executive director of the Friends of Music Education for Haiti, a Florida nonprofit.[10] Joseph rebuilt The New Victorian School after it was destroyed by a fire in 2000, and again ten years later after it was destroyed on January 12, 2010, during the 2010 Haitian earthquake.[1][7]

Based on his experience surviving the earthquake, Joseph wrote The Miracle of Music: Experience How Romel Joseph Has Used His Musical Knowledge and Talent to Overcome Some of His Most Challenging Life Obstacles.[11]

When the 2010 quake struck, Joseph was on the third floor of The New Victorian School and became buried beneath the rubble for 18 hours.[1][7] He claimed to have kept himself alive by mentally reciting every major piece of classical music he had performed until rescuers found him.[1] He was flown to Miami, Florida, where he was treated for three months and underwent multiple surgeries for a crushed arm and two crushed legs at Jackson Memorial Hospital.[2][12][13] Joseph's second wife, Myslie, and their unborn child did not survive the quake.[1][3] He died at age 56 on October 6, 2015, after having a stroke.[14] His daughter Victoria Joseph is also a violinist.[10]