Joe Panzetta is a Seattle based musician, yoga & meditation instructor, and graphic designer. Originally from Philadelphia, Joe's first band was formed at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where he and Peter Mulvey fronted Big Sky. Panzetta released his debut solo album in 1994, first showcasing his natural abilities as songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist on "The Ocean Shows the Sky." He moved to Boston in 1995 and released the reunion disc, “Little Big Sky” with Mulvey, and then in 1998 teamed up with Michael Hayes to release “Everything Else.” In 2007 he released the ambitious “Migration” which featured many guest performers including Miles and Karina, Peter Mulvey, and Andy Santospago.

His 2010 CD “Sat Sangeet” combines his passions for music and meditation in 9 tracks of mantra from the Kundalini yoga, Hatha yoga, and Buddhist traditions. Distinctly western in style, the arrangements are pleasant to listen to or chant along with, while remaining functional for a yoga/meditation practice. Featuring the tabla prowess of Ravi Albright and Panzetta’s first ventures into instruments such as the harmonium, bouzouki, and tamboura, the sonic landscape is rich, relaxing and powerful.

Joe has been practicing Kundalini Yoga since 1996 and was certified to teach in 2001. Meditation and Pranayama have been a particular interest of his for years. He has worked in high demand corporate environments including 5 years at Microsoft working directly with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, and loves to explore what he calls “stealth meditation,” the practice of incorporating mindfulness and meditation into the work day without anyone knowing you’re doing it. He leads a drop-in Tuesday night class in Northgate that is open to all levels and he is available for consultations, particularly having to do with stress reduction and mindfulness “off the cushion.” Joe is also a student and practitioner of Taoism and Buddhism with particular interest in Zen.

Joe has been the Creative Director at Atigeo, a Bellevue based software company since 2008. In general he says he finds himself most happy when busy creating something, whether it’s moving pixels on a screen, sand on a beach, or eggs in a pan. The creative process has been an ongoing study of his since his days as a theatre major at Marquette. For over 20 years he has studied the experience of creation that both artists and scientists share – that spark of inspiration where something comes out of nothing, and then gets coaxed into form. He has twice taught workshops that investigate the creative process its' relationship with meditation and yoga, and has been developing the written work “The Guided Reach, an Inquiry into Creation” which he plans to craft into a workshop series curriculum in 2011.