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Empowering voices to inspire worship.
Joe Simmons is a nationally recognized cantor and lector formation leader, vocal interpretation coach, and liturgical consultant.
Dedicated to human-centered leadership and sacred vocal presence.
Cantor & Lector Workshops & Residencies
Individual Coaching
Conferences Workshops & Retreats
Examples of ministry, formation, artistry, and leadership in action.
The Work of the Cantor: Proclaimer of the Word, Leader of Prayer
A practical and spiritual guide that helps cantors depend their understanding of proclamation, leadership, and the ministry of sung prayer.
Liturgical Bootcamp
One worshipping community's story of implementing a cantor and lector formation residency to strengthen proclamation, leadership, and assembly participation.
As Director of Music and Cantor for The Sunday Mass, Joe helps lead a nationally televised weekly liturgy from the Passionist Community that reaches worshippers across the United States and globally through broadcast and online streaming. Visit the current week's Mass and explore the archive of past broadcasts.
In Practice
The Sunday Mass Broadcast
A foundational resource for cantors and parish leaders covering the essential skills, responsibilities, and practices of effective liturgical music ministry.
Cantor Basics, Revised Ed.
Joe Simmons as Psalmist for
Papal Mass in Yankee Stadium
Joe's concert work embodies the same commitment to communication, presence, and interpretation that he cultivates in cantors, lectors, and worship leaders.
Joe's recordings, Sudden Waves and Singing Out, have been used in healing ministries, recovery settings, and reflective prayer experiences, fostering connection, contemplation, and renewal through music.
Recordings for Prayer, Reflection, and Healing
In Concert
Joe Simmons
Joe Simmons is a nationally recognized cantor formation leader, pastoral musician, author, coach, and educator whose work spans liturgical ministry, communication, leadership development, and the performing arts. For more than three decades, he has helped individuals and communities discover how voice, presence, and authentic human connection can inspire participation, learning, healing, and transformation.
Based in New York City, Joe serves as Director of Music and Cantor for The Sunday Mass, the nationally televised ministry of the Passionist Community. Widely known for his contributions to cantor formation, he has presented workshops and institutes throughout the United States for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and chaired the steering committee that launched its original cantor certification program. He continues this work through parish residencies and coaching programs that support cantors, lectors, clergy, and music ministers in deepening both their technical skill and spiritual presence.
Joe taught song interpretation at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and is the author of The Work of the Cantor: Proclaimer of the Word, Leader of Prayer, co-author of Cantor Basics, Revised Edition, and a contributor to pastoral music publications and formation resources. As a recording artist, Joe has released two collections of spiritual Music, Sudden Waves and Singing Out, available on Apple Music and Spotify. Together with his work in formation, education, and performance, these projects reflect a lifelong interest in how voice can communicate meaning, foster connection, and support healing.
Beyond liturgical formation, Joe has built a parallel career in healthcare communication, coaching, and workforce development. As a Professional Certified Coach, Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, and member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, he has helped healthcare professionals, educators, and leaders cultivate communication practices that strengthen collaboration, support behavior change, and foster meaningful engagement. His faculty affiliations have included the City University of New York and the Centre for Collaboration, Motivation and Innovation.
Whether working with a cantor preparing a psalm, a clinician navigating a difficult conversation, or a leader seeking a more authentic presence, Joe is guided by a common conviction: that the human voice is most powerful when it communicates not only information, but connection, meaning, and hope.
Credible Foundations
Joe Simmons brings decades of specialized expertise to liturgical leadership
and human-centered communication.
Author & Co-Author
Contributing to national publications on cantor ministry, vocal formation, and liturgical leadership practices.
Recording Artist
Concert and recording artist whose sacred music is used in healing and healing ministries.
The Sunday Mass Director of Music
Nationally televised and streamed director of music and cantor for The Sunday Mass ministry.
Relational Voice Coach
Empowering individuals through vocal coaching and presence training for liturgical leadership.
Healthcare Communication Educator
Specialized trainer and coach in Motivational Interviewing, focusing on human-centered, collaborative communication that empowers others.
Liturgical Ministry Consultant
Serving Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopal communities with formation and coaching.
How I Can Help
Empowering vocal ministers to inspire worship through formation
that deepens proclamation, presence, and leadership.
Cantor Forum
Three voices. Thee perspectives. One conversation on the cantor role, music ministry, worship, and leadership.
Cantor Forum is a new podcast hosted by Joe Simmons, Annie Donnellon, and Rebecca Wells. Together, they bring distinct perspectives shaped by experience in cantor ministry, music leadership, formation, education, and advocacy.
Through thoughtful conversation, practical insights, and shared experience, Cantor Forum explores worship, leadership, vocal ministry, and the cultivation of human presence in liturgical life.
Designed as an interactive podcast experience, Cantor Forum invites questions and reflections from listeners, creating space for dialogue beyond each episode.
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Meet the Hosts
Cantor formation leader • author • coach
• National leader in cantor formation and liturgical training
• Director of Music & Cantor, The Sunday Mass (national broadcast)
• Educator in communication, coaching, and pastoral formation
Cantor • classically-trained soprano
• NPM-certified cantor
• Performer, recording artist (A Sacred Collection)
• Theater, audiobook narration, and vocal performance
• Advocate for expressive, inclusive worship leadership
Musician • educator • liturgical music leader
• Master’s degree in clarinet performance
• 35+ years in choral, orchestral, and church music settings
• International performer (Vatican and major cathedrals worldwide)
• Focus: formation, choral leadership, and liturgical meaning
Testimonials
"Joe Simmons re-charged a crowd of nearly 300 cantors and lectors who came from up to 300 miles away. His general sessions were informative and extremely relevant to our everyday cantor/lector preparation and parish experience. The individual coaching sessions have proved invaluable. As a director, I have gone back to my notes and used them repeatedly for cantor and choir preparation. Our lector minister continues to train lectors according to what she learned from Joe. Many parishioners have commented on this change. Months later, we are still reaping the benefits of this experience. It has changed the perspective, the lens through which our cantors and lectors see their ministry. Vocal performance to vocal prayer can be a reality."
Sylvia Chapa
Former Music Minister
St. Nicholas Catholic Church
Virginia Beach, Virginia
“Joe Simmons did not just come and wow us with his incredible skills—he inspired us and gave us the tools to continue to improve in our ministries. Under his leadership, our cantors and assisting ministers developed a group goal to maintain our focus on enhancing our liturgies. With a clear picture of what that “looks” like, we now are able to proceed with new confidence and a growing love for the word we proclaim.”
Bonnie Harstad (1953-2014)
Music Director and Associate in Ministry
Faith Lutheran Church
Lexington, Kentucky