Joanna West

Joanna West studied at Clare College, Cambridge, The Royal Academy of Music and Indiana University, USA where her teachers included Frederick Grinke, Michelle Auclair, Franco Gulli and Kato Havas. During this time she won several awards including a Countess of Munster award, a Turner Exhibition award, and a Wingate Foundation scholarship for her studies in the US, and the highest First Class mark for her BA recital. She was also a member of the European Community Youth Orchestra. 

Joanna enjoys a varied career as a freelance violinist, performing in Britain and Europe as a soloist, a chamber musician and in many of the country’s leading orchestras. She has led many of the country's best chamber groups, including Abacus (who were finalists in the 1991 Bela Bartok International Chamber Music Competition), Chroma and the West Piano Trio, all of whom have had a special interest in contemporary music.

As a recital and chamber musician she has appeared in the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Dartington International Summer School, the International Centre for Russian Music, the St Endellion Festival, the St Columb Festival, the Highbury Festival and for several music clubs around Britain.

With pianist Maria Krivenski she has recently put on her own series of recitals at Burgh House, Hampstead exploring the social and political relationship between French and Russian music, and recently gave a world premiere of a piece commissioned for this series by Stephen McNeff.

As a concerto soloist she has performed the Mendelssohn (Rehearsal Orchestra), Mozart D major (Isis Chamber Orchestra), Beethoven (Isis and Oxford Sinfonia), Glasounov (Clare College Orchestra), Berg (Clare College) and Prokofiev no 2 (Norfolk Symphony and Norfolk Youth Orchestra).

Joanna has been a member of English National Opera orchestra, and also regularly plays with the Royal Philharmonic and the Britten Sinfonia. She currently leads Carl Rosa Opera and Pimlico Opera orchestras.