Joanna Ceja

Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, Voice and Master of Music in Vocal Arts 

Joanna Ceja is a lifelong musician with a background starting in her early childhood. She took piano lessons from the same teacher from the age of five, until she began college at the age of eighteen. Her parents are both from Mexico, and she speaks Spanish fluently.

Joanna was a high achiever in her school days, and began traveling for music conventions in her secondary schooling. She is a Texas All State Band alumnus in percussion (classical timpani, marimba, drums, and auxiliary percussion), and a Texas All State Choir alumnus as an alto in choir. In her undergraduate studies, Joanna focused on choral music education. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, Choral from Texas Woman's University in 2015. Afterward, Joanna earned her Master of Music in Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California.

After her masters, Joanna performed in a variety of award winning operas, among which were: Sweet Land (world premier) by Raven Chacon and Du Yun, which won the American Opera of the Year Award from Opera America. She was a manager of personnel at Long Beach Opera when they won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in music for their production of Central Park Five by Anthony Davis. She also performed several solos in the opera Frida by Robert Rodriguez, and traveled with the same cast, to perform at Anchorage Opera in Alaska before the pandemic cut her newly blossomed performing career short.

Now, Joanna enjoys conducting large choirs, and hopes to conduct and direct choirs or chamber ensembles again someday. Her public school choir students earned Division 1 ratings at UIL events such as Solo and Ensemble, Concert, and Sight Reading. At Orpheus, Joanna teaches voice lessons, piano lessons, and group musicianship classes.