JOANNA MIELESZKO is an NYC-bred Polish-American mezzosoprano and choral conductor. She likewise moonlights as a dilettante harpist, retired pianist rediscovering impressionism, and diner coffee devotee. Her musical endeavors oscillate between preserving the (very) old and pioneering the daringly new. Some performance highlights from the last year include performing with Anglica Antiqua, both directing and performing in David Lang’s Mile Long Opera, singing alongside the legendary Maria Farantouri in Carnegie Hall, and ushering in five world premieres at the helm of AEON Ensemble as part of the Queens New Music Festival.

Joanna’s extensive involvement in the Eastern European cultural communities of the tri-state area includes directing visiting ensembles, reviving underperformed Slavic lieder, and premiering new works as both singer and conductor at venues such as Symphony Space, Carnegie Hall, The Kosciuszko Foundation, Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, Brooklyn Folk Festival and others across North America and Eastern Europe. In this vein, she is thrilled to perform the music of Valentyn Sylvestrov at the inaugural Contemporary Ukrainian Music Festival in 2020.

As the musical director of Ukrainian Village Voices, she concluded an ethnographic and performance tour in Ukraine which culminated in a sold-out multi-media performance at the Ukrainian Museum in New York City this last November. In addition to leading weekly rehearsals with UVV, she has led workshops of Ukrainian polyphony across NYC sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Alongside her musical ventures, as an amateur academic and translator Joanna has enjoyed numerous scholarships and pedagogical opportunities that have propelled her across the globe in pursuit of research. Her most recent engagements in this field include participating in the New York – St. Petersburg Institute, translating for the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, Russia, and working as a journalist for the Zwierzyniec Film Festival.