Joy Keown Bedillion

Owner and Administrative Director/Cello Faculty

Cellist Joy Keown Bedillion began her musical studies at age four. At thirteen she was awarded the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra Quartet Scholarship to study cello with the faculty of Columbus State University. A year later Bedillion was invited to be a part of the National Symphony Orchestra, a group of young musicians who performed in Carnegie Hall under the well-known conductor and composer Lucas Foss. As a seventeen year old she won the Blount-Slawson scholarship to study at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute with Mickey Katz and Tang Quartet. Joy Keown Bedillion completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the North Carolina School of the Arts in their music conservatory under Dr. Brooks Whitehouse.  In 2011 Joy was named a Texas Music Festival Orchestra Fellow. Also in 2011 she completed a masters degree from Louisiana State University where she studied with Dennis Parker, author of the Popper Manifesto. An avid chamber musician, Bedillion has collaborated with such renowned musicians as Christopher O’Riley and Dennis Parker. She also served as a founding member for the Aloha Piano Quartet in 2012. Joy has worked with many Grammy-winning vocalists such as Lauren Daigle, Michael Boltin, Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight. As a teacher, Joy is passionate about training the next generation of young musicians and joined the Faculty at Grace Notes School of Music in June of 2009. She rose to become a part owner of Grace Notes in 2012 and maintains a full studio of talented cellists. She continues to perform in many local orchestras including the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Opera Louisianne, The Rapides Symphony Orchestra, and Baton Rouge Little Theater. She resides in Baton Rouge with her husband and is the author of The Cello Blog.