Taiwanese-American violist and chamber musician Joy Hsieh is an active performer and educator across the United States and Asia. Passionate about both traditional and contemporary repertoire, she has received multiple honors including the Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award and the New England Conservatory Chamber Honors Ensemble Competition Award during the 2024-2025 season. She has performed Mendelssohn’s String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 alongside the Borromeo String Quartet and appeared at venues including Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, Yuanlin Performance Hall, Kilbourn Hall, and the McNay Art Museum.
An advocate for new music, Joy has collaborated on innovative projects such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra Prelude Series, “What I Hear,” the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, and the New England Conservatory’s Tuesday Night New Music Series. She has worked with distinguished artists including Hsin-Yun Huang, Wu-Man, Steven Mackey, and Joseph Lin, and has participated in performances featuring composers such as Gabriela Lena Frank, Caroline Shaw, and Malcom Peyton. Her festival appearances include the Heifetz International Music Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Mostly Modern Festival, Chamber Music Athens, Brevard Summer Music Institute, Altschuler Summer Music Institute, and Credo Chamber Music Festival. In Summer of 2026, she returns to the Heifetz International Music Institute, Chamber Music Athens as a featured alumni guest artist, performs as a guest artist with the Changhua Chamber Music Society, and joins the Mostly Modern Festival as a fellow.
Committed to arts leadership, education, and community engagement, Joy is a fellow in the Eastman School of Music’s Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Program. At the New England Conservatory, she held multiple fellowships through NEC’s Community Performances and Partnerships, including Musical Storytelling, Ensemble, and Teaching Fellowships. In these roles, she designed and delivered education outreach programs for audiences ranging from elementary and high school students to seniors and healthcare professionals. During her time at NEC, she completed a minor in Teaching Artistry and Music Education, culminating in a capstone project focused on artistic and educational community engagement.
Joy’s teaching experience includes serving as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music, faculty member at the Eastman Community Music School, New Horizons String Mentor, and chamber music coach for the University of Rochester students and New England Conservatory Preparatory Division. She has also taught violin and viola through the Boston Hope Music Project, a partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital and NEC, where she helped organize chamber music workshops aimed at fostering connection and healing through music.
Joy is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Viola Performance and Literature with a minor in Chamber and Viola Pedagogy at the Eastman School of Music, where she studies with Phillip Ying. She earned her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma degrees from the New England Conservatory under Mai Motobuchi and holds a dual Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Georgia, where she studied with Maggie Snyder and David Fung. Joy began her studies in Atlanta with Marilyn Seelman.