Joe McDermott

Biography Contact: Louise McDermott
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Joe McDermott

Joe McDermott is a nationally recognized children’s artist based in Austin, Texas. In 1982, after graduating from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. Five years later, he opened his own preschool, The Phoenix School, in Central Austin. Since childhood, Joe has possessed a notable talent for music. He learned to play the drums at eight, and the guitar in his teens. While teaching pre-school, Joe realized that children were an unending source of inspiration for songwriting. His first children’s recording was a tape he and the school children recorded as a Christmas gift for the parents. To date, he has written and released five children’s recordings. His first nationally distributed CD entitled, I Am Baby, won a Parents’ Choice Recommended Honor in 1998; and his 2001 national release, Great Big World, and his 2003 release, Everywhere You Go, have both won the esteemed Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award. Joe was honored with his first NAPPA Gold Award for Everywhere You Go, which includes the Children’s Music Web Award winning song, “Baby Kangaroo.” This song also captured a second place prize in the International Song Writing Contest, Children’s Division in 2005, and is in regular rotation on the children’s channel of XM Radio.

McDermott’s proficient songwriting abilities enabled him to compose music for children’s video games and educational software. One project teamed Joe with Stan and Jan Berenstain, authors of the classic Berenstain Bears books. Impressed by Joe’s work, author Stan Berenstain enlisted him to adapt ten of their books to song. After working with Joe, Stan Berenstain said, “Joe McDermott is not only a magnificent songwriter, he’s also an absolute wizard at communicating with children through music.”

Spring of 2004 was a particular high point as Joe was the featured guest for the Austin Symphony Orchestra’s Spring Family Concert, in which six of his songs were converted to full symphonic arrangement under the expert wand of maestro Raffaele Ponti. Intrigued with sharpening his composition skills, Joe hopes to arrange more songs for orchestra, and tour this production throughout the United States.

Residing in Austin, Texas with his wife and three incredible children, Joe balances an active performance schedule along side a continuous writing and recording schedule. He is personally involved with several charities that serve the local children. And once again, Joe finds himself sharing his musical skills and experience to a future generation as a Music Faculty member at Austin Community College.