about
Dr. Joy Yamaguchi is a New York City based violinist with a passion for building community through her teaching, performing, research, and administrative leadership in music. Originally from California’s Central Coast, she began violin at age seven through the Suzuki Method and gave her first solo performance as a young artist with the Carmel Bach Festival. She has performed across the Americas, Europe, and Asia in renowned venues, collaborating with both classical ensembles and artists such as Ms. Lauryn Hill and Yvette Young from the band Covet.
Joy is a dedicated educator who creates affirming learning spaces where students of all backgrounds feel seen, supported, and empowered. Guided by the belief that creativity thrives in spaces of trust and inclusion, she designs educational experiences that center student voice. She has taught at the collegiate level and worked with students of all ages at institutions including the University of Colorado Boulder, the Sphinx Performance Academy, Front Range Community College, and El Sistema Colorado. She has led masterclasses across the Americas and presented on inclusive pedagogy and student-centered learning at conferences including the American String Teachers Association National Conference. Her work has been recognized with awards for teaching, research, and social impact.
As an arts administrator, Joy has led the development of youth programs, managed teams of teaching artists, produced educational events, and created curriculum tailored to diverse learners. She has held roles with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Grammy Award-winning contemporary ensemble eighth blackbird. In 2020, she collaborated with a group of arts leaders to develop the Alliance for Music Education Equity (AMEE), a collective impact initiative advancing equity across Denver’s music nonprofit sector. She is the founder and director of Our Music Theory, a program designed for elementary string students that introduces music theory through creative composition, improvisation, and storytelling. Since its launch, the program has served students in Title I schools and has contributed to reimagining early music education and music theory with a focus on creativity, access, and student voice.
Joy's research focuses on pedagogy and underrepresented voices in classical music, including the work of Meiji-era composer Nobu Kōda and the intersection of music education and the philosophy and practice of the late activist and scholar, bell hooks. Joy holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance and a Graduate Certificate in Music Theory from the University of Colorado Boulder. She was selected for the Global Leaders Institute’s 2020 international cohort in arts leadership, cultural policy, and teaching artistry.