Joanna Hodges Collection

Joanna Hodges was born on October 28, 1932 in San Pedro, CA. She studied with Mae Gilbert Reese at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music (California Institute of Arts), and with John Crown at the University of Southern California. Additional studies were with Rudolf Firkusny at the Aspen School of Music and with Bruno Seidlhofer at the University of Vienna. Performances in Vienna, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and other European cities were followed by a New York debut at Town Hall in 1959. In addition to regular concert appearances in her native California, Hodges performed extensively in European countries such as England, Austria, Germany, Greece, Holland, Switzerland and Sweden, along with performances in Taiwan, India, Hong Kong and Russia. Hodges received the distinction of being the first American woman pianist to be invited to do a major tour of Romania (1961-1962). As a teacher, Joanna Hodges established an international reputation, with many of her students winning awards in major competitions throughout the United States and Europe. She held faculty positions at California State University at Long Beach, Long Beach City College, and College of the Desert in Palm Desert, CA, along with maintaining a highly regarded private piano studio in Long Beach, CA, and later in Vancouver, WA. Hodges was also an active presenter of seminars, lecture-recitals and master classes. In 1979 Joanna Hodges founded the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, held at College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA. In 2002 the Hodges Competition became the Virginia Waring Competition. Joanna Hodges died in Vancouver, WA on January 8, 2016.