Family man, music man and devoted professor

By Sarah Gaskins
Staff Writer

Dedicated, kind, talented and successful are a few simple, yet truthful words that personify and describe CSUB's music professor Dr. Joel Haney.
Prior to Dr. Haney's teaching career here at CSUB, he strong-mindedly endured a long road of education to get to where he is today, in regards to his expertise in music.
His journey began when he made the decision to move to Minnesota to further his education in music. There, he attended the small Liberal Arts School of Saint Olaf College and declared his major in music as well as trumpet performance. Originally from Montana, Haney described his 900 mile transition to a new school as a "dramatic experience."
After he spent four years at Saint Olaf, Haney became a student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for an additional five years. Upon completing his five years there, Haney received two master's degrees. He attained one degree in Trumpet Performance and the second in Musicology.
In the year 2000, Haney was accepted to Yale University in Connecticut where he earned his Ph.D. in Music History. After he graduated from Yale in 2006, he made his way to Bakersfield, to spread his knowledge of music as a music professor.
"I realized that I'm never going to get out of school!" Haney joked. His seemingly endless amount of years studying in school and his choice of occupation as a college music professor proves he has and always did have great enthusiasm and passion for the subject.
This is Haney's third year at CSUB and he definitely seems to be enjoying himself. "I like it here ... I like it here for a number of things," he said. "I like the people that I work with and I really enjoy getting to know and working with students," he added. Haney spoke highly of the music department here at Cal State by describing it as an extremely collegial environment. "There are very talented people working in this department," said Haney.
He became a lover of music during his early childhood years. Haney reminisced about how he and his family would often sing together around the dinner table. "Not sure that that happens anymore, but if it did, the world would be a better place," he said.
Haney grew up around music and everyone in his family was, in some way, musically talented. His father played both the French horn and the trumpet, his mother and sisters played the piano and his older brother played the trumpet as well. At the age of five, Haney began to show interest in the piano. He couldn't read music at that time, but he did try to make his own melodies.
"I liked the creative freedom of making my own tunes," he said. His mother eventually made him take lessons for two years, which he wasn't too fond of. Haney laughed, "I remember putting my head face down on the keyboard and crying."
In second grade, he followed in his brother's footsteps and pursued the trumpet. Unlike the piano, he loved the trumpet from the beginning and continually enjoyed playing it.
Sometime in his teen years, Haney's dream was to become a rock star in a rock band. With that in mind, he decided to teach himself how to play the guitar. He chuckled and commented on how appreciative he was for his parents allowing him to play the electric guitar in the house.
Haney also participated in jazz improvisation throughout high school.
During his college years at Yale University, a school friend of his got him to be a part of a rock/salsa/funk band. The 10 piece band developed the name 'Nate Link and the World Champions.' He and his fellow band members would play in different clubs in the New Haven vicinity. "It was great," Haney said smiling.
Throughout college, Haney had always thought he was going to be a trumpet performer. He eventually realized that he was actually incredibly interested in Music History, or what is also referred to as Musicology. He recognized this epiphany as a slight moment of crisis.
"I did not enjoy performing as much as I did before," Haney stated explaining his doubts.
He went from enjoying playing and creating music to talking about it. While he of course continued to take pleasure in playing instruments, he was greatly fascinated with learning about the tradition and intellectual side of music. Due to his inquisitive attitude towards his Music History classes he enrolled in at school and the encouragement of his professors, Haney made the transition from wanting to be performer to an educator. Although he is currently extremely busy with teaching, Haney tries to pick up his trumpet when he can find the time.
Haney distinctly remembers his first day lecturing at Cal State. When looking back on that specific day, he recalls being very nervous, but very excited as well. "I was prepared, but a little too prepared," said Haney. "I was so prepared that I'm not sure that the class understood anything I said!"
Being his third year here at CSUB, it is clear to see that Haney has adapted well and loves what he is doing. He did acknowledge that one of the biggest challenges he has confronted as a college professor, is to be able to fully communicate with undergraduates in an effective manner.
"However, that's my goal. To make information meaningful to my students," said Haney retrospectively.
As a music professor, Haney is inevitably a fan of various pieces and composers. Paul Hindemith, a 20th Century German composer, is a music genius in Haney's book. Another individual that would be a definite candidate for Haney's Top 10 list of favorite composers is Claude Debussy. He was 15-years-old when he heard Debussy's impressionist piece 'Nuages' for the first time. Its title means clouds, and the piece represents the shifting and movement of clouds in the sky.
"I was blown away by how beautiful it was," said Haney. He liked this specific piece so much that he wrote his dissertation on it.
"There are so many! Let me think of one more, and I'll throw the towel in," said Haney as he concentrated on who would be another all-time favorite composer.
He decided to go with the one and only, Johann Sebastian Bach. Haney described Bach's work as being beautiful, creative and expressive at the same time.
While Haney certainly is an admirer of Classical music, he also is a fan of popular music bands as well. "I'm a big fan of U-2. They have a very important message as well as musical style that I enjoy," said Haney. He also finds the depth and variety of the music produced by the Beatles pretty impressive. Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel were also mentioned artists that he likes.
When Haney is not entirely focused or busy with teaching music, he really enjoys reading a good book. He reads all three of the "Lord of the Rings" novels each year. "They have incredible substance about humanity," explained Haney. He also likes to read books either about theology or philosophy.
"Then of course there is my family," said Professor Haney as he shared how he most enjoys spending his time when he is not teaching. Haney is a husband and a father of two children. In fact, he and his wife welcomed the youngest of two into the family about a year and a half ago.
He is well aware of what a challenge it is to balance the time he spends on his career as a professor and the time he spends with his family as a father and husband. However, while he loves teaching music, he makes certain that it does not completely consume him.
Music has played a crucial role in the life of Professor Haney and it is his goal to extend his knowledge of it to his students. "My favorite thing about music is that it is an entirely different world from a visual world. It is an immense world with so many possibilities for expression and meaning. It is intimately connected with how I feel inside and it is a world that I can lose myself completely in."