Ivana Joy has studied classical music with renowned musicians such as Joan Kwuon, Elisabeth Small, Carmine Miranda and Courtney LeBauer. She particularly enjoys playing Romantic era works such as Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Saint-Saens Violin Concerto in B minor and Dvorak’s pieces for chamber ensembles, but her ultimate love is for Bach. Her approach to classical music always puts the audience first and the performer second. Her belief is that music is a gift for others and that the performer is merely the vessel that transports that gift to the audience. Following that same idea, Ivana has a desire to find ways to make classical music more accessible to her audience and she is devoted to finding ways that integrate other art forms and disciplines into her performances.
Ivana Joy enjoys a variety of commercial styles such as Bluegrass, Celtic and Cape Breton fiddling. Originally growing up in Wisconsin, Ivana established her commercial roots first in Canadian style fiddle and spent time at various fiddle camps including the Leahy Music Camp where she was able to meet and learn from renowned fiddlers such as Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy.
After moving to North Carolina at the age of 11, she was able to gain an appreciation for Appalachian folk music and incorporated that genre into her fiddle style. She has studied commercial music with Ryan Joseph, Billy Contreras and Jamie Laval.
