In 1986 she came to the United States to continue her education at the University of California at Los Angeles and studied with Elaine Barkin, William Kraft and Roger Bourland. She became very interested in creating a style of fusion of Chinese traditional musical language with Western contemporary compositional techniques. She has received several awards, including two from Phi Beta Kappa for international students, one Tanglewood Music Festival fellowship and two Aspen Music Festival Scholarships. In 1991, she received her Ph.D. from UCLA.
(Joan & Fellow propaganda members @ Xin Huo Farm during her teens)
Joan Huang has taught at University of California, Irvine, and has given lectures at University of Southern California, University of California, Santa Barbara, California State University at Fullerton and Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China. She is a regular columnist with the Chinese professional magazine The Music Lovers (bimonthly) since March 1997 in Shanghai, China.
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As a composer, Ms. Huang has had commissions and performances from outstanding organizations and
performers, such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Boston Music Viva, Boston Artists Ensemble, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Southwest Chamber Music Society, Marimolin, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Ying Quartet, and Piano Spheres etc. Her The Legend of Chang-e won the first prize of "1994 Marimolin's International Composition Contest". Besides performances in the United States, her music has been performed in Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
