Joseph Masella

Who was Joseph Masella?

Joseph Masella was a Canadian french hornist and music educator.

Masella was born in Montreal into the well known Masella family of musicians. His father Frank Masella was principal clarinetist with a number of important Canadian orchestras and his grandfather Raffaele Masella had played the clarinet with the Montreal Concert Band and the Victoria Rifles Band during the 19th century. All of his brothers were also professional musicians and they all played together in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra: Raphael, Pietro, Rodolfo, Alfred, Paul Mario and Giulio. Joseph notably premiered Michel Perrault's Serenade per tre fratelli on CBC TV with his brothers Paul and Giulio in 1964.

Masella studied the french horn with Harry Berv at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal from 1943-1946. While a student he was appointed principal horn of both the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the CBC Montreal Orchestra, holfing both posts from 1943-1969. He also played for the CBC 'Little Symphonies' Orchestra for many years and partnered with the Masella Wind Trio for performances and recordings.