Suzuki Viola/Violin. M.M in Viola Performance, B.M. The University of Kentucky; post degree viola studies with Paul Neubauer (The Juilliard School); Suzuki training and numerous enrichment courses with Cathy McGlasson, Alice Joy Lewis, Roger Steig (Columbus), Betsy Stuen-Walker, Danny Gee Cordova, Ann Montzka Smelser, Daina Volodka Skaggs, Teri Einfeldt, Linda Fiore, and Carey Beth Hockett. Solo and chamber music studies include participation at Banff and Kneisel Hall summer festivals, violist of the Endless Road Strings, Niles Graduate String Quartet (Univ. of Kentucky) and participation in the Lexington Baroque Ensemble.
Joanna Binford is currently a viola/violin instructor and the Suzuki Strings Coordinator for the Academy of Music in Norfolk VA. Her teaching career spans over 40 years with her students attending conservatories, winning competitions and continuing to play for the joy of music-making. She is a nationally-renown Suzuki institute and workshop clinician and was a featured teacher at the biennial Singapore International String Festival 2024.
Ms Binford performs and records with the Endless Road Strings (ERS), a string quartet specializing in eclectic musical styles. She plays frequently with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Symphonicity. Awards include the Kentucky Chapter of the American String Teachers Association 2013 “Outstanding Service” and District 7 KMEA “Outstanding College/University Music Teacher of the Year”. Ms. Binford is a member of the Suzuki Teachers Association of Hampton Roads (STAHR), and directed the violas during the group’s student tour of Peru in June 2014.
She is featured on several recordings including the 2012 release by the Kentucky Center for the Arts of “Ky Governor’s School for the Arts Instrumental Music Faculty, the 2016 recordings by ERS entitled “Almost Home”, and “The Fence in the Sun” album by Tom Farley, and the soon to be released “Meditative Works for Organ and Viola, works by Callahan, Vierne, and Trapp” with Stephen Leist, organ.
In addition to classical orchestral work, she has served as a back-up musician for celebrities such as Arlo Guthrie, Natalie Cole, Dave Brubeck, Anne Murray, Bob Hope, Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Ray Price, David Gates, Dinah Shore, Ann Hampton Callaway, Tommy Emmanuel and the Moody Blues. As a member of the Lastinger Ensemble, she appeared in the movie Simpatico, which starred Jeff Bridges and Sharon Stone.