Joanna Morrison

A native of Orlando, Florida, cellist Joanna Morrison completed her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degrees at Boston University studying under Leslie Parnas and George Neikrug. In 2007 Ms. Morrison won a position in the Honolulu Symphony and served as principal cello of the Hawaii Symphony from 2012 to 2015. Concert tours have taken Ms. Morrison to Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea as well as much of Europe and the United States performing under conductors including Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman and Manfred Honeck. Joanna was an acting member of the San Diego Symphony from 2016-2020.

An avid chamber player, Ms. Morrison has collaborated with artists including Jon Kimura Parker, Chee-Yun Kim, Joyce Yang and Thomas Sauer and has studied under members of the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets. While in Hawaii, Ms. Morrison was a member of Chamber Music Hawaii’s Galliard String Quartet and the Ebb and Flow Arts modern ensemble. She has received fellowships to summer festivals around the world including Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, AIMS in Graz, Austria, International Festival Institute at Round Top, Blossom Music Festival, Cascade Music Festival and Verbier Festival where she served as principal cellist for the world tour with Charles Dutoit and Martha Argerich.

Joanna Morrison resides in San Diego with her husband, violist Ethan Pernela, their daughters, Zoe and Madeleine, and their dog Mochi. Joanna has been teaching for over 20 years and is excited to expand her teaching studio here in San Diego. She is currently taking Suzuki Training, Books 1-10, with Pamela Devenport at the New York School for Strings, via Zoom.  Joanna is currently offering cello lessons and group classes online and in person at her home studio.