Dr. Joanne Lan-Funn Kong

Pianist and harpsichordist Joanne Kong captures the attention of audiences in compelling performances that celebrate the vibrancy and eloquence of musical expression. Embracing a broad range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music, her performances have been praised for “great finesse and flexibility” (The Washington Post), “superb” playing (The Boston Globe) and “superb artistry” (San Antonio Express-News) for works “sensitively played” (The New York Times). Her versatility includes the distinction of being the first artist to release a harpsichord-piano recording of the Goldberg and Diabelli Variations, on the BRIOSO label. In 2007, she gave the World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize – winning composer Michael Colgrass’s Side by Side, the first concerto to be written that features a soloist in a dual role as both pianist and harpsichordist.

Kong has performed to critical acclaim at numerous venues including the Los Angeles and Oregon Bach Festivals, Memphis Chamber Music Society, San Antonio Festival, Los Angeles Monday Evening Concert Series, Virginia Waterfront International Festival of the Arts, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, National Gallery of Art Concert Series in Washington, D. C., Strathmore Hall’s “Music in the Mansion” series, Columbia University, Harvard University, the Conservatorio Dall’Abaco in Verona, Italy, the Melk Abbey Summer Concert Series and Baden’s Haus der Kunst in Austria, and the International Festival of Orchestras and Youth in Cartagena, Colombia. This May, under the auspices of the Partners of the Americas, she will travel to Brazil for a 10-day performing and teaching tour. A gifted collaborator, she has performed with numerous artists including the Shanghai String Quartet, Eugenia Zukerman, cellist James Wilson, violinist Karen Johnson, and 3-time Grammy Award – winning ensemble eighth blackbird. She is in frequent demand as a keyboard, vocal and chamber coach, and has been guest teacher at New York University, New England Conservatory of Music, and Yale University, among others. Dr. Kong is currently the director of the accompanying and chamber music programs at the University of Richmond. 

In addition to her musical accomplishments, Dr. Kong has also become well-known as a vegan, animal and environmental advocate around the globe, with presentations not only in the US, but also in Germany, Canada, India, Norway, Spain, and Italy. Her TEDx talk, “The Power of Plant-Based Eating,” filmed here at UR in 2016, has over 900,000 views. She is editor of the 2021 book, Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, and appears in the major documentary narrated by Kate Winslet,Eating Our Way to Extinction.