Joan trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music from the University of Mississippi, Oxford.

She started life as a child prodigy classical pianist, was the youngest soloist ever to play with the North Carolina Symphony—age 8—and continued to perform in solo recitals and with orchestras throughout her youth. She was recipient of the Paderewski Gold Medal, and received the first scholarship awarded by the National Guild of Piano Teachers.

She has taught at leading drama and music centers in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, including the Manhattan School of Music, New York, the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, Lites2000 Drama School, Dublin, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and Toi Whakaari, the National Drama School of NZ.

Joan has been a performer, vocal coach and/or musical director on productions in virtually all media, from daytime television to musical theatre, from new music premiers to panoramic theatre in Central Park. She is a published author and composer, a specialist in 20th Century vocal music, and a Master Teacher of the Fitzmaurice approach to theatre voice training.

From 1993 – 96, she was Executive Director, Voice, of Professional Edge, a national consulting firm for business professionals, and from 1996 – 2002, she was on the voice team of the Center for Voice, Western Medical, Santa Ana, CA.

During 2007 – 2010, she led exploratory research projects in the UK and Australia, focusing on breath management strategies of elite vocal performers. Her current research and upcoming book are on Voice and Dance Techniques: Relating across Boundaries.

Joan is Associate Editor, Singing, for the Voice and Speech Review, former Secretary of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), a frequent presenter at international conferences, and a regular contributor to professional journals.