Composer and pianist Joseph Joubert is coming to Mizzou at the end of this month for a residency that will include the world premiere performance of “Freedom’s Plow,” a new commissioned work written by Joubert for Mizzou’s Concert Chorale.

On Thursday, November 29, Joubert (pictured) will speak at a convocation of the music department, and then take part in a recording session with the Concert Chorale. While he’s in Columbia, he’ll also attend rehearsals of the Chorale and the University Singers, as well as the Concert Chorale’s performance featuring his new work on Saturday, December 1 at First Baptist Church in Columbia.

A native New Yorker and graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Joubert probably is best known for his involvement in musical theater, having served as the conductor of “Motown The Musical” on Broadway; as keyboardist and assistant conductor for “Billy Elliot” and “The Color Purple”; and for two seasons as staff pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Company’s revival of “Porgy And Bess.”

As a pianist, he has appeared in New York City’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall, and with the Manhattan Symphony, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, the New Philharmonia, the West Palm Beach Symphony, the Mobile Symphony, the Marin Symphony, and more.  Joubert also has been active as a recording artist, providing arrangements and keyboards for well-known performers including Ashford & Simpson, Patti Labelle, Jennifer Holliday, Nancy Wilson, Diana Ross, Judy Collins, George Benson, The O’Jays, Nnenna Freelon, Boys Choir of Harlem, Dixie Hummingbirds, and more.