ABOUT
Originally from New York, Joanna Lau is flutist, writer, and teacher currently based in Pittsburgh. She recently graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. (cum laude) in Neuroscience and a minor in English, and is now pursuing a Master's in Flute Performance at Carnegie Mellon.
FLUTIST
Joanna aspires to breathe life and imagination into music both as a performer and a teacher, and she is passionate about sharing the enlivening power of music with others. As an orchestral musician, Joanna actively subs with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. She has also been a Flute Fellow at Music Academy of the West, National Orchestral Institute, and Round Top Festival Institute. As a soloist, Joanna has performed with the Manhattan School of Music PreCollege Philharmonic Orchestra, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, and Island Symphony Orchestra as winner of their concerto competitions. A former recipient of the Anthony Quinn Foundation Scholarship, Joanna enjoys giving back to the community through teaching and outreach performances. Joanna has a small studio of flute students, plays at church services in Pittsburgh, and was previously involved in music outreach in the greater-Boston area through the Back to Bach Project, Continuo, and Virtual Bedside Concerts during her time at Harvard.
Joanna is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Flute Performance at Carnegie Mellon University, studying with Lorna McGhee (Principal Flute, Boston Symphony Orchestra). Her former teachers include Cynthia Meyers, Elizabeth Rowe, and Linda Chesis.
WRITER
Aside from music, Joanna is an avid writer of fiction and creative nonfiction. She was the 2nd place winner of the 2021 Cyrilly Abels Short Story Prize (for best short story written by a Harvard undergraduate) and a finalist in the 49th New Millennium Writing Award for Nonfiction. In 2023, Joanna had the privilege of attending NYS Skidmore Summer Writers Institute's advanced fiction workshop on a full tuition scholarship. Joanna's work has also received a Gold Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, 1st place in the International Poetry of Resistance Contest, and 2nd place in Brooklyn Poets' Walt Whitman Bicentennial Poetry Contest (ages 13-17). She has been published in Apprentice Writer, Brooklyn Poets, Chomp, Poetry Escape, and elsewhere.
TEACHER
Joanna is also a passionate teacher who prioritizes guiding students while nurturing an enjoyment and love for learning. She teaches flute privately and is an experienced private academic tutor, having worked with students primarily in English/Writing, college/application essays, PSAT/SAT Prep, and K-12 Math. Previously, Joanna worked as a Writing Center Tutor at Harvard University and was on the Flute Faculty of Through the Staff.
(See tabs "Flute Lessons", "Academic Tutoring", or "College Essay & PSAT/SAT Tutoring" for more information.)
(Photos by Neo Guerrero, Shun Takino)