Joana graduated from the Escola Superior de Música, Artes e Espectáculo do Porto, with Ryszard Wóycicki and then with a Master’s degree with Tatjana Masurenko at the Leipzig Hochschule für Musik und Theater as a scholar of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Winner of numerous prizes, as a soloist and chamber musician she had masterclasses with Anabela Chaves, Diemut Poppen and Ryszard Woycicki among others and performed with the Soloists of the International Mahler Orchestra between 2010 and 2013.

Between 2009 and 2014, she joined the European Union Youth Orchestra, acting as Principal Viola in the final two years. Eventually, she joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Joana has been a member of the European Philharmonic of Switzerland (EPOS) since 2017 performing with acclaimed conductors and soloists in prestigious halls around the world.

In parallel to her performing career, Joana also taught at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo do Porto and the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon.