Joanne Pearce Martin


Currently enjoying her 11th season as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Principal Keyboardist, JOANNE PEARCE MARTIN performs with the orchestra on multiple keyboard instruments including the celesta, various synthesizers, and occasionally a Mac computer, in addition to the ubiquitous piano. Born in Allentown, PA, Ms. Martin performs all over the world as soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. With the L.A. Phil., she has made numerous solo appearances on piano, harpsichord, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ, appearing with such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Adams, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. She is also a frequent soloist with the LA Phil during the summer Hollywood Bowl seasons. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she has been guest soloist with many other orchestras in the U.S and abroad, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, L.A. Chamber Orchestra, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Florida West Coast Symphony, and England’s Huddersfield Philharmonic. In great demand as a collaborative artist, she has performed with such artists as Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Iona Brown, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, & Joseph Silverstein, among others.

Ms. Martin has performed at dozens of summer music festivals and concert series spanning four continents, including those in Aspen, Sarasota, Park City, Utah, New York’s 92nd St. Y, Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center Library, Kennedy Center, Costa Rica, Australia, Taiwan, Edinburgh, Cologne, and Nice. Southern California audiences have followed her performances of New Music and “standards” for years with the L.A. Phil’s Green Umbrella and Chamber Music Series, Camerata Pacifica, Dilijan, South Bay, Ojai, Mainly Mozart, and San Louis Obispo Mozart Festivals.

This season Joanne and her husband Gavin Martin have continued to concertize together as a 2-piano team. She has also performed multiple-piano works with Emmanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Helene Grimaud, and Jeffrey Kahane. Her playing has been described by the Los Angeles Times as possessing “unusual fervor and fluency.” She has performed on all the major U.S. television networks and recorded commercially for Centaur, Summit, and Albany records, as well as the Yamaha Disklavier Piano. Ms. Martin has also been the subject of a half-hour feature on The Learning Channel. Her latest recording project, a solo CD entitled “Joanne Pearce Martin, Barefoot”, was released in 2008 on Yarlung Records. Ms. Martin’s playing of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto can be heard on DreamWork’s upcoming movie release “The Soloist”, starring Jamie Foxx. Her newest and certainly freshest musical adventure is learning to play the Theremin – she is now the proud owner of a Moog “Etherwave Pro”.

When she’s not making music, you might find Joanne up in the air – she is an instrument-rated airplane pilot and master-rated skydiver.


Concerts Performed
  • Currents

    Sat, June 1, 2013
    The home of Bonnie MacBird & Alan Kay in Brentwood
    Sun, June 2, 2013
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, June 5, 2013
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • Cross-pollination

    Sun, March 4, 2012
    The Home of Gloria Putnam & Stephen Rudicel (The Zane Grey House) in Altadena
    Mon, March 5, 2012
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, March 14, 2012
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • Music among friends

    Sun, March 22, 2009
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, March 25, 2009
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • Mavericks and Magicians

    Sun, March 2, 2008
    at the home of John & Barbara McLoughlin in Brentwood
    Mon, March 3, 2008
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, March 5, 2008
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • We all breath the same air

    Sun, March 4, 2007
    the home of Edwin & Leilani Raquel in Hancock Park
    Mon, March 5, 2007
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, March 7, 2007
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • “There is a magic made by melody…” -Elizabeth Bishop

    Sun, April 3, 2005
    the home of John & Barbara McLoughlin in Brentwood
    Sun, April 3, 2005
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, April 6, 2005
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • A glistening fountain of sounds

    Sun, May 18, 2003
    the home of Elyse & Stanley Grinstein in Brentwood
    Sun, May 18, 2003
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, May 21, 2003
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • on a loom of light and shadow

    Thu, February 21, 2002
    Home of John & Barbara McLoughlin in Brentwood
    Sun, February 3, 2002
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Tue, February 12, 2002
  • Secret Pathways, Hidden Treasures

    Sun, April 22, 2001
    the home of Evan & Ronna Binn in Tarzana
    Sun, April 22, 2001
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, May 2, 2001
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • Through Mist and Shadow

    Sat, March 11, 2000
    the home of David & Dona Schultz in Pasadena
    Mon, March 13, 2000
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, March 22, 2000
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • The Garden of Celestial Delights

    Sun, April 18, 1999
    the home of Allen & Jane Fink in Burbank
    Sun, April 18, 1999
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, April 28, 1999
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • A Romance with Rhapsody

    Sun, January 31, 1999
    the home of Evan & Ronna Binn in Tarzana
    Mon, February 1, 1999
    The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
    Wed, February 3, 1999
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • On Wings of Fantasy

    Sun, April 19, 1998
    the home of Evan & Ronna Binn in Tarzana
    Sun, April 19, 1998
    The Biltmore Hotel
  • Sublime & Soulful

    Sun, May 18, 1997
    at the home of Allen & Jane Fink in Burbank
    Sun, May 18, 1997
    The Biltmore Hotel
    Wed, May 21, 1997
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • Three centuries of lyricism

    Fri, April 19, 1996
    the home of Geraldine Schlein in Los Angeles
    Fri, April 19, 1996
    The Biltmore Hotel
    Sun, April 21, 1996
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • From the depths of soul

    Sun, February 4, 1996
    the home of David Speltz & Connie Kupka on Mt. Washington
    Sun, February 4, 1996
    The Biltmore Hotel
    Mon, February 12, 1996
    The UCLA Faculty Center
  • The Late Romantic and the romantic 20th century

    Sun, April 23, 1995
    the home of John & Barbara McLoughlin in Brentwood
    Sun, April 23, 1995
    The Biltmore Hotel
  • January Concert

    Sun, January 23, 1994
    the home of Geraldine Schlein
    Sun, January 23, 1994
    The Biltmore Hotel
  • May Concert

    Sun, May 16, 1993
    the home of John & Barbara McLoughlin
    Sun, May 16, 1993
    The Biltmore Hotel