ASO String Academy Cello Instructor
Joanna Klett began her music studies on piano at the age of 6. Studies on the cello began a few years later through the University of Northern Iowa Suzuki School. Upon graduating from high school, she pursued a piano performance degree at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through a partnership with a neighboring school, Calvin College, Joanna was also able to perform in the Calvin College Orchestra cello section under the direction of John Varineau. She later transferred to Western Michigan University to focus on cello performance.
Joanna earned her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Western Michigan University with a Minor in Philosophy. She continued her studies and earned a Master of Music in Cello Performance at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In addition to her collegiate studies, she attended several summer music festivals, including Encore School for Strings (Cleveland Institute of Music), Meadowmount School of Music, and the National Orchestral Institute (University of Maryland). Her principal cello teachers include Jonathan Chenoweth, Bruce Uchimura, Owen Carmen, and Pansy Chang.
Upon completing her Masters, Joanna began teaching cello and piano in both Cincinnati, Ohio and Oxford, Ohio. In Cincinnati, she developed and maintained an active studio of over fifty cello and piano students at West Chester Academy for 10 years, which included group piano classes and an adult cello performance class. In Oxford, Ohio, Joanna was the cello instructor for Miami University’s Young Musicians’ Program for 9 years, teaching private lessons, group classes, and summer cello camps.
Also an active performer, Joanna is a founding member of the Oxford Arts Trio (Oxford, Ohio) alongside Jerry Stanley, piano, and Christine House-Shumway, violin. In 2018, Joanna moved to Little Rock, Arkansas and joined the staff of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra as Education Coordinator. In 2019, she became the Cello Instructor for the ASO’s ASO String Academy.
