Joseph Conyers

Joseph H. Conyers was appointed principal bassist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2023. He had served as acting associate principal bass with the orchestra since 2017 and had served as assistant principal bassist since 2010, following tenures with the Atlanta Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, and Grand Rapids Symphony, where he was principal bass. Conyers has performed with numerous orchestras as soloist across the U.S., is an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has performed internationally. Recognized for his artistic and social entrepreneurial endeavors, awards include the Sphinx Organization’s Medal of Excellence (2019); the C. Hartman Kuhn award (2018); and Musical America’s 30 Top Professionals—Innovators, Independent Thinkers, and Entrepreneurs (2018). In 2015, Conyers was the inaugural recipient of the 2015 Young Alumni Award from Curtis Institute of Music, where he received his bachelor’s degree. An advocate for music education, he is the executive director of Project 440—an organization that helps young people use their interest in music to forge new pathways and change their communities. He is also the music director of Philadelphia’s All City Orchestra, which showcases the top high school musicians of the School District of Philadelphia. Conyers is on the double bass faculty of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and is a frequent guest clinician and lecturer presenting across the country from Yale University to the Colburn School.