Josh Roach was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He moved to California to study music performance, conducting, composition, and scoring for motion pictures and television at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. While at the Thornton School, Josh worked under the tutelage of Los Angeles Philharmonic trumpeter Boyde Hood, conducting teacher and former Thornton Dean Larry Livingston, and composition teachers Rick Lesemann, Jack Smalley, and David Spear. In addition to his work at USC, Josh has also attended the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, attended California State’s “CSU Summer Arts” program in Fresno, and participated in the California Conducting Institute with John Farrer (Bakersfield Symphony), Donald Thulean (Spokane Symphony), and Daniel Lewis (Pasadena Symphony/USC Thornton Symphony).
Josh currently enjoys a professional life full of diversity, allowing him to use his talents as a conductor, trumpet player, composer/arranger, film music editor, music educator, and administrator. As a freelance musician, conductor, and educator, Josh has worked with Turner Classic Films, DreamWorks Pictures, PBS, the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band Brass in Blue, Thornton Symphony, Phoenix Symphony Youth Guild, Paradise Valley (AZ) school district, Scottsdale (AZ) Community College, Mesa (AZ) Community College, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, and various recording studio orchestras in Los Angeles.
As an administrator, Josh currently serves as the personnel/ensemble manager for the University of Southern California’s Thornton Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, working with musicians such as Larry Livingston, Carl St. Clair, Midori Goto, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Andre Watts, Thomas Ades, Shelly Berg, Patrice Rushen, Lamont Dozier, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and John Williams.