Born in Portugal in 1989, Joana started playing the violin at the age of four. She studied at the Conservatoire of Music in Aveiro with Ana Sofia Mota until she finished her school education. During the final two years, she also studied the viola with Hugo Diogo.
In 2007 Joana was awarded a place at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon, where she continued her violin studies with Anibal Lima. She also had chamber music coaching with Alexei Eremine and Paul Wakabayashi. Upon completion of her undergraduate course, Joana continued her studies at the Royal College of Music, London, with Radu Blidar for her master’s degree which she completed in 2013.
During this time, she attended numerous festivals including Harmus festival, Stift international festival and Aurora Chamber Music. She also participated in masterclasses for solo and chamber music given by distinguished professors including Gordan Nikolic, David Fruhwirth, Patrik Judt, Max Rabinowitsj, Daniel Rowland, Leonid Kerbel, Zoltan Santa and the Chilingirian Quartet.
Joana has been a member of several orchestras including Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Orpheus Sinfonia and Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, and worked with conductors including Bernard Haitink, Martin André, Herbert Bloomsted, Roger Norrington, Antonio Pappano and Michael Zilm.
Joana is currently freelancing in London and studying with Radu Blidar as a Gulbenkian Foundation scholar.
Which three people, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with and why?
Ivry Gitlis, Salvador Dali and Tim Burton. I think they would be the some of the best companies for dinner, because of their genius, incredible imagination and just a great spirit to be around and feel their aura.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be?
Before deciding to follow a professional career in music, I always wanted to be a journalist; I enjoy writing and being up to date with current affairs and I really wanted to get into doing documentaries and investigations.