Joanna has been Head of Piano at the Academy since 2011 and is a Professor of the University of London. The honour acknowledges her work as an eminent solo artist, teacher and curator.
Joanna has performed in over eighty countries and appeared with the great conductors and orchestras of the world. SoundCircus, her record label founded in 1998, has released many highly successful recordings of solo and concerto repertoire including the Mercury Prize-nominated Play, the complete Chopin Mazurkas, Live in Buenos Aires, Bach’s Goldberg Variations and concertos by Britten, Gershwin, Schnittke.
Joanna is the curator of the Academy’s annual piano festivals, which celebrate the creativity and ebullience of our pianists, and she is the outgoing Artistic Director of the Dartington International Summer School and Festival.
The Academy’s Principal, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE, said ‘Joanna is an extraordinary beacon of what is possible in creative musicianship of the 21st century and this news is cause for great celebration, both for music in this country and the Academy. Her life-juggling is a miracle in itself! Above all, I admire her continuously positive and fresh thinking about music, deeply rooted in her collaborative instincts, cross-disciplinary interests and how she can bring others into play – especially our young pianists through her inspirational mentoring as teacher and leader.’
The Academy’s students, staff and Governing Body offer their warmest congratulations.