JoAnn Turovsky

JoAnn Turovsky serves as an Adjunct Professor of Harp at the USC Thornton School of Music with a thirty-year tenure, while also holding faculty positions at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and Colburn School of Performing Arts. As a performer, she holds principal harpist positions with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Los Angeles Master Chorale and Sinfonia Orchestra.

Her artistic focus centers on harp performance across orchestral, chamber, and solo repertoire, with significant contributions to film and television scoring. She has performed on over 400 movie soundtracks including Avatar, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Toy Story franchise, and War of the Worlds, demonstrating exceptional versatility in both classical and contemporary media contexts.

Dr. Turovsky's distinguished career has been recognized through:

• Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Harp Society
• First Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Young Professional Division)
• First Prize in the Coleman Competition for Chamber Music
• Prizewinner at the Fifth International Harp Competition in Jerusalem, Israel
• Award from the Young Musicians Foundation
• Schoenfeld Artist/Teacher Award from the California Chapter of the American String Teachers’ Association

Her teaching philosophy emphasizes mentoring individual musicians for success in evolving artistic landscapes. As chair of the American Harp Society National Competition, she actively shapes the next generation of harpists through both pedagogical and competitive frameworks, maintaining strong connections between academic instruction and professional performance practice.