Biography
Joseph Legaspi is a Filipino-American baritone and conductor whose career bridges classical performance, sacred music, choral conducting, and recording. Equally compelling as a soloist and on the podium, he brings together Western and Filipino traditions, classical and contemporary repertoire, and sacred and secular music into a singular, versatile artistic voice.
As a baritone, Joseph has performed opera, concert, recital, and sacred music across the United States and the Philippines. His operatic credits include Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women, Maximilian in Candide, and El Blogger in the world premiere of ¡Únicamente la Verdad!. On the concert stage, he has sung Fauré’s Requiem alongside solo recitals spanning classical and contemporary vocal repertoire, earned finalist honors in vocal competitions, and recorded and performed with Oregon Catholic Press (OCP).
His Filipino heritage runs through everything he does. Formative years with the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the Ateneo Chamber Singers shaped a repertoire that still moves fluidly between art song, classical sacred works, Filipino music, and contemporary sacred and crossover pieces.
For more than two decades, Joseph has directed choirs and ensembles in university, church, and concert settings. His conducting is rooted in his own life as a singer—he brings a performer’s ear for text, vocal color, and phrasing to every rehearsal and programs with the same range and curiosity that define his solo work.
Joseph holds Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Since then, he has held university and church music posts, led choral programs, taught voice and musicianship, and worked with singers and instrumentalists across every level of experience.
Contemporary sacred music has become a particular passion. Through performances, recordings, and ongoing collaborations with composers, he continues to fuse his classical training, Catholic faith, and Filipino heritage into something distinctly his own.
Joseph currently serves as Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Teresa of Avila Church in Summit, New Jersey, where he leads the parish’s music program and ensembles while staying active in solo performance, recording, and collaborative projects.
At the heart of Joseph’s work is a conviction: music communicates what words cannot. Whether on stage as a soloist, on the podium leading an ensemble, or in the studio with fellow musicians, he chases performances that are musically compelling, deeply expressive, and genuinely connected to the people listening.