Romel Joseph

Based on his experience surviving the earthquake, Joseph wrote The Miracle of Music: Experience How Romel Joseph Has Used His Musical Knowledge and Talent to Overcome Some of His Most Challenging Life Obstacles. He died on October 6, 2015, after having a stroke.

Joseph worked as the music director at the St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children where he had attended as a child. He founded The New Victorian School in Port-au-Prince in 1991. In 1996, he founded and served as executive director of the Walenstein Musical Organization, a non-profit that provides music education, training, and performance opportunities to children in South Florida. Joseph rebuilt The New Victorian School after it was destroyed by a fire in 2000, and again ten years later after it was destroyed on January 12, 2010, during the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

Joseph was born in Gros Mornes, Haiti, the middle of five kids. He was raised by nuns at the St. Vincent School for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Born with congenital cataracts, a condition that left him with less than 10% vision even after corrective surgery in 1980, Joseph earned a Fulbright scholarship despite his handicap and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1982 and a Master of Arts in violin performance from Juilliard School of Music. He also studied with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Berkshire Music Center.

Romel Joseph (May 19, 1959 – October 6, 2015) was a Haitian professional violinist best known as the founder of The New Victorian School, a private school for grade-school children located in Turgeau, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.