Joel Schut is the Director of the Grand Valley State University Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Music Education teaching courses in conducting and music education.

Prior to his appointment at GVSU, Dr. Schut served as Assistant Director of Orchestral Studies and Instructor of Music Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder, interim Director of Orchestras at the Crane School of Music SUNY-Potsdam, led courses in String Music Education at Michigan State University, and taught for seven years in the Michigan public schools including the nationally recognized Okemos High School Orchestras.  Additionally, he served as director of the Denver Young Artist Conservatory Orchestra.  He is an active clinician for all-state, regional, and honor orchestras, and a passionate advocate for public school music programs throughout the country.

As a conductor, Dr. Schut has appeared with the Crane Symphony Orchestra, Michigan State Opera Theatre, Michigan State Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Colorado, Boulder Symphony, Philharmonia, and Chamber Orchestras. He served as Music Director of the Livingston Symphony Orchestra, founding director of the Detroit Medical Orchestra, and organizer of the Michigan Teachers Orchestra. He has collaborated with a range of professional artists including Andrés Cárdenas and Ralph Votapek and commissioned works for string and full orchestra.

A dedicated string educator, Dr. Schut's research and service include work as a conductor-teacher, trainer, and advocate for cross-cultural music making.  He has presented clinics and workshops on a range of topics and mentored young teachers nationally and internationally.  He has worked with multiple engagements in Tunisia and Honduras and served as guest faculty at the Afghanistan Institute of Music.  He facilitated a long standing music host exchange connecting German and American young artists and has been a featured artist faculty at the Myanmar Music Festival.  A graduate of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas Global Leaders Program, he has served as a program mentor connecting innovators in youth orchestra education throughout the Americas.

Dr. Schut is past editor for the American String Teacher Journal and his publications include the Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra series (GIA), Southwestern Musician Magazine, and the American String Teacher Journal. He received his Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from Michigan State University, Masters in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Colorado, Boulder and Bachelors in Violin Performance and Music Education from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance where he was awarded the Albert A. Stanley Medal, the school's highest honor.