Joanna Boyd Best – Voice, (Faculty Member Since 2021): Joanna Boyd Best began singing in public at age six. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music (voice) from Davidson College and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Appalachian State University. She is a frequent soloist at Trinity Episcopal in Asheville and has sung masterworks solos with various orchestras in North Carolina and the midwest. She has also participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Fronting bands in Chapel Hill, Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas, she discovered the fun of old blues tunes. She has covered the waterfront in genres, but particularly enjoys the jump blues and swing tunes with Virginia and the Slims. She also taught public school music for fifteen years. She is an adjunct instructor in music at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College and an adjunct faculty member in voice at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She holds a diploma in piano from the American College of Music Teachers. She also works with K-8 students in reading.