What dreams did you have as a child? Joanna Seiber sat at her sister’s feet as she played the harp, envisioning herself in a Carnegie Hall debut as her biggest goal and greatest dream.
Joanna says she was mesmerized by the sweet sounds the harp could make and decided she wanted to take it as far as she possibly could. Joanna has a competitive edge in more than the harp, however, as she demonstrated throughout her teenage years.
Her teenage days consisted of either training at an ice rink, practicing the harp or getting ready for piano lessons. As a result of her diverse talents, Joanna trained to be an olympic level competitive figure skater while performing professionally on the harp and the piano.
Leaving the world of figure skating, Joanna entered college pursuing a piano career, with a yearning to follow her love for playing the harp which couldn’t combine with the demands of a pianist.
To hear the story of a dream, the impact of a dream lost, then how a dream is realized, watch Joanna’s YouTube video, requested by Dolly Parton’s manager: Joanna Sieber: from the heart.
If you don’t watch her impactful video, know she realizes her childhood dream of playing her harp in Carnegie Hall shortly after graduating from college.
Joanna began focusing mainly on her love for playing the harp after some wise advice from her professor, and during her junior year of college, her professor sent her to a website that talked about a Carnegie Hall performance with the Christian groups, Selah and Travis Cottrell. She sent an email to the director of the performance and he responded within two days that she was chosen to be the principal harpist for this performance.
Joanna and her husband went to New York City this July where she performed in Carnegie Hall’s largest auditorium, the Stern Auditorium, which is the world’s most coveted performing venue.
She has continued to maximize her music abilities by pursuing a commercial music degree and a music theory certificate she will complete in December.
Joanna and her husband, Tony, married after he graduated from college. After only a couple months of being married, she began advertising music lessons in Knoxville and she is now giving harp lessons in their home in Fountain City. She has an official music studio in Concord United Methodist Church in Farragut, with a waiting list for piano students.
Joanna still performs professionally as she is a contract performer for Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort & Spa, Howe Farms in Chattanooga, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Titanic Museum music groups, Carson Newman, and ETSU during this Christmas season.
Joanna attributes inspirations as trifold: her husband, her parents and her Savior. She says her husband is always supporting and encouraging her endeavors. Her parents have likewise always encouraged and supported her both emotionally and financially. Her blessings are beyond anything she ever dreamed of and accredited to her Savior, Jesus Christ.
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