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Joel and his wife of more than 40 years, Vivienne, are New Jersey natives who relocated to Gates Mills in 1999. Joel joined the CJO board shortly thereafter, spent seven years as its president, and remains dedicated to the CJO and “The Art Form Moving Forward.” A mortgage banker with U.S. Bank’s Home Mortgage Division since 2001, Joel has a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School. After a miserably failed attempt at age seven to become a violinist, he persuaded his skeptical parents at age 14 to give him a crack at the alto saxophone, and the rest, shall we say, is history. He purchased his first LP album, “Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi,” shortly thereafter, and his love for jazz has grown ever since. Joel played alto in his high school bands and orchestra, and then first-chair alto sax with the University of Pennsylvania wind ensemble, with which he performed Paul Creston’s “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Band” his senior year. His saxophone (and clarinet) legitimately kept him out of Viet Nam, as he spent six years playing with the 50th Armored Division, New Jersey National Guard band, and has since kept active with various community bands and jazz bands. He currently plays lead alto with the Prime Time Big Band, based in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Joel and Vivienne have two musical grown children. Adam is a psychologist on staff with the Atascadero State Hospital in central California, living with his wife, Angie, and sons Jacob, Benjamin and Simon. Randie Shane Tollefson, a professional actor, singer and dancer with over ten years in national Broadway tours and regional theater productions, is now on staff with the American Guild of Musical Artists in New York City and pursuing her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Relationship Counseling. Randie and her husband, Eric, live in Astoria, New York. Randie appeared with the CJO in March of 2007, singing a duet with the great Ann Hampton Callway.

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