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Joanne Pearce Martin

Keyboards

Katharine Bixby Hotchkis Chair

Member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2001

Joanne Pearce Martin

Pianist Joanne Pearce Martin was appointed to the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Esa- Pekka Salonen in 2001.

She holds the Katharine Bixby Hotchkis Keyboards Chair. A native of Allentown, PA, and a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, she balances a busy career as soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist.

Martin has been featured with the LA Phil on multiple occasions at the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall. On tour with the LA Phil, she was the piano soloist in a sold-out and critically acclaimed performance of Messiaen’s epic 100-minute work Des canyons aux étoiles at London’s Barbican Centre with Gustavo Dudamel. 

She has performed at dozens of music series and festivals spanning four continents, collaborating with artists such as Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Julius Baker, Joseph Silverstein, and Steven Isserlis. She has been guest soloist with many other orchestras in the US and abroad, including the Charlotte Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Florida West Coast Symphony, England’s Huddersfield Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Since the 1990s, Joanne Pearce Martin and her husband, Gavin Martin, have performed in the US and abroad as a two-piano team, including multiple performances with the LA Phil. She also has collaborated periodically with pianist Jeffrey Kahane. They have given joint performances of Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos as well as the world premiere of Andrew Norman’s Frank’s House and the West Coast premiere of John Adams’ Roll Over Beethoven.

Martin enjoys delving into new musical adventures, such as playing the theremin. She has performed and recorded a commissioned piece, Theremin’s Journey, by Gernot Wolfgang, in which she plays both the theremin and the piano. She also commissioned a solo piano work (D’Nato) by composer and LA Phil Principal Timpanist Joseph Pereira. In addition, she is a regular performer on the LA Phil’s groundbreaking Green Umbrella series.

When you’re a part of a professional, world-class orchestra full-time, the music is coming at you nonstop...You finish with one project, and you’re on to the next. It’s kind of like a snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger and bigger.

– Joanne Perce Martin

Once you live with a piece for a while, sometimes it can start doing different things to you. Something that used to stress you out might make you smile 10 years later!

During the 2021/22 season, Martin had the distinct pleasure of working alongside Steven Spielberg as the featured solo pianist in his award-winning semi- autobiographical film The Fabelmans. At the personal invitation of John Williams, she recorded a varied collection of solo classical pieces as well as Williams’ original score for the film. 

Martin’s playing has been described by the Los Angeles Times as possessing “unusual fervor and fluency and stirring virtuosity.” When she’s not making music, you might find her up in the air—she is an instrument-rated airplane pilot and master-rated skydiver.

Follow Joanne on Instagram

TEACHING ACTIVITY

Alongside her role with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Joanne is an adjudicator at Music Academy of the West.

Upcoming Events

Jlin
Tue  Mar 16, 2027  8pm

Green Umbrella

John Adams/Rhythmic Lines

Past Events

Chamber Music
Tue  Feb 10, 2026  8pm

Lunar New Year

Chamber Music with Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Thumbnail for Neighborhood Concert at Hacienda Heights Community Center
Sat  Dec 6, 2025  7pm

Neighborhood Concert at Hacienda Heights Community Center

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Fri  Dec 5, 2025  7pm

Neighborhood Concert at Los Angeles Mission College

Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing in a Chamber Music concert.
Tue  Oct 7, 2025  8pm

Strauss, Pärt & Glass

Chamber Music with Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Chamber
Tue  Jan 7, 2025  8pm

Brahms, Beach, and the Piano

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Tue  Apr 2, 2024  8pm

Debussy, Ewald & Françaix

Chamber Music with the LA Phil

Thumbnail for Lunar New Year
Tue  Feb 27, 2024  8pm

Lunar New Year

Chamber Music with the LA Phil

Vimbayi Kaziboni
Tue  Nov 14, 2023  8pm

Chaparral and Interstates

Green Umbrella

Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Tue  Nov 7, 2023  8pm

Pereira, Washington, and Mozart

Chamber Music with the LA Phil
California Festival

Iveta Apkalna
Tue  May 23, 2023  8pm

Organ & Strings featuring Iveta Apkalna

Anthony Cheung
Tue  Mar 14, 2023  8pm

LA Phil New Music Group with John Adams

Amadeus Live Poster
Tue  Aug 23, 2022  8pm

Amadeus LIVE in Concert

Chamber Music – May
Tue  Apr 5, 2022  8pm

Chamber Music: On Motherhood

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Tue  Mar 29, 2022  8pm

Chamber Music: Winds of Change

Chamber music by members of the LA Phil
Tue  Aug 3, 2021  8pm

Chamber Music with the LA Phil

Free Event

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Tue  Apr 9, 2019  8pm

All-Stravinsky

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