Joan Havill is a respected piano teacher and Senior Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

 in London. She was born in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 where she began her musical studies giving concerts and broadcasts from early childhood. Scholarships brought her to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to study at the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

 where she studied with the celebrated English pianist, Cyril Smith

Cyril Smith (pianist)

Cyril James Smith OBE was a virtuoso concert pianist of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and a piano teacher.-Personal life:...

, and won several of the College’s most prestigious prizes.

During the 1960s British Arts Council Scholarships sponsored studies firstly with Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and later in London with the Hungarian pianists, Ilona Kabos and Louis Kentner

Louis Kentner

Louis Kentner was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire....

. Her Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...

 debut took place in 1966 and she began her concert career touring regularly throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australasia.

She played concertos with many leading orchestras including the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Symphony Orchestra

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...

 and toured with the Ulster Orchestra

Ulster Orchestra

The Ulster Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Belfast, the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall...

 and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....

 offering a wide ranging concerto repertoire. She also gave many Wigmore Hall recitals, recorded for Vox and broadcast for BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...

, NZBC and BBC Television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

.

Since 1980 Joan Havill has been a Professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and in recent years has gained worldwide recognition as a teacher. Her students have featured amongst the major prize winners of many leading international piano competitions including the Chopin Competition (Warsaw), Van Cliburn, Leeds, Scottish International, Royal Overseas League, Maria Canals, Montreal, Gina Bacchauer, Hamamatsu, Honens, Maria Callas, Marguerite Long, William Kapell and the Busoni. They include Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis (pianist)

Paul Lewis is an English classical pianist. His father worked at the Liverpool docks and his mother was a local council worker; there were no musicians in his family background....

, Sa Chen

Sa Chen

Sa Chen is a Chinese classical music pianist. She won first prize in the 1994 China International Piano Competition and fourth place in the 2000 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition and a prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition...

and Serhiy Salov.

In 1986 Joan Havill was made a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and in 1996 she was given the title of Senior Professor of the Piano Department. She gives masterclasses regularly in England and abroad and is a well-known adjudicator.

Joan is married to the composer Anthony Herschel Hill.