We’re excited to welcome everyone to the RSCMA Carolina Summer Choral Residency in July. Regrettably, due to circumstances beyond our control, we’ve have had to postpone having Tansy Castledine with us as our Music Director this year. We very much look forward to having her at the Course next summer in 2026. For this year’s Residency, Dr. Joseph Causby from the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, NC has very graciously agreed to step in and serve as our substitute Music Director. Joe is no stranger to RSCM America, and will be a familiar and friendly face for many of us. Welcome, Joe!

Joseph Causby serves as Director of Music and Organist at the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, NC, and is the immediate Past President of the Royal School of Church Music in America. Prior to his appointment in Chapel Hill, Joseph served Episcopal parishes in Texas, building active intergenerational programs which encouraged excellence through musical and spiritual formation. As a conductor, his choirs have taken part in four English Cathedral residencies; performed major works with orchestra; and recorded and broadcasted live on NPR and PBS. Most recently, the choir of the Chapel of the Cross served a weeklong residency at Ely Cathedral (Cambridgeshire) and The Temple Church in London.

A passionate collaborator, Joseph has formed relationships with universities and international organizations including Britten Pears Arts in Aldeburgh, the Royal Academy of Music, Cambridge University, Duke University, the University of North Carolina, and the Ackland Museum. As a frequent guest artist at Duke University and its Chapel (home of RSCM America), Joseph plays the organ and harpsichord for special services and Evensongs, and most recently took part in a complete performance of Bach’s Musical Offering, BWV 1079 with members of the Duke University music faculty.

As an organ recitalist, Joseph has given concerts in the United States, Canada, England, and France. In 2019, he was a featured speaker for the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Choir School of St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City. His dissertation, Who dares stand idle? Thomas Tertius Noble, a life in church music, 1867-1953 was completed in 2015.

A native of Morganton, North Carolina, Joseph holds a BMus from Appalachian State University, an MMus from Rice University, and a PhD from the University of Durham (UK), where he also served as the first American organ scholar of Durham Cathedral. In 2023, Joseph was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music for his services to the Anglican Communion.