Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl graduated from the University of Arizona with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in classical flute performance, with a minor in music theory. Diverging from the norm in dissertation topics in a classical flute program, she chose to study the Native American flute, something that has become her life's work. Dr. Joyce-Grendahl was invited to present her dissertation, "The Native American Flute in the Southwestern United States: Past and Present,”at the 1998 National Flute Association convention in Phoenix, Arizona. She has also worked with Tim R. Crawford in publishing three editions of the book entitled, Flute Magic: An Introduction to the Native American Flute.

On both the orchestral flute and the Native American flute, Dr. Joyce-Grendahl has performed and presented master classes throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico. A particularly memorable performance was a 1997 world premier in New York City of a composition for Native American flute and classical guitar. Dr. Joyce-Grendahl from Gina Genova commissioned the composition entitled I Draw the Rain: Hohokam Songs (1996). It is comprised of four movements based upon traditional texted melodies of the Tohono O'odham and the Akimel O'odham people, both of whom are descendants of the Hohokam ("the ones who have gone now"). According to the composer, Gina Genova, I Draw the Rain "seeks to present a pure form of the melodies from five traditional Native American songs from the Southwest, transcribed and arranged for flutes of varying registers with classical guitar accompaniment."

Another memorable performance was at The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. In September 2000, Dr. Joyce-Grendahl, with Dr. Marijim Thoene - organ, gave a world-premier performance of a composition entitled Songs of Creation by Jay Vosk, a composer from Tucson, Arizona. The composition was commissioned by Dr. Thoene and appears on a CD of organ music entitled, Mystics and Spirits, available from Raven Compact Discs and the Organ Historical Society.

In March 2005, Dr. Joyce-Grendahl, with R. Carlos Nakai, was invited to present and perform at the 2005 Kei Kona Te Ha Me Te Wairua festival in Rotorua, New Zealand. Kei Kona Te Ha Me Te Wairua is a series of master classes, workshops, and performances celebrating Maori and Scottish music traditions. Both R. Carlos Nakai and Dr. Joyce-Grendahl were part of a cultural/musical exchange, as they shared their Native American music and cultural scholarship, as well as flute performing abilities, with the participants in the festival.

In addition, Dr. Joyce-Grendahl recently finished consulting on Terrence Malick's new film, The New World, due to be released in November 2005. The New World is an epic adventure set amid the encounter of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607. The accomplished cast includes Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, Christopher Plummer, and Wes Studi, to name a few. Dr. Joyce-Grendahl, an ethnomusicologist whose area of expertise is Native American music and culture, consulted with the directors and producers with regard to the music and flutes used by the Native Americans of the southeastern United States, as well as providing guidance in flute-playing skills to the character of Pocahontas.

Throughout her career, Dr. Joyce-Grendahl has participated in many master classes for the orchestral flute with various well-known flutists such as Martha Aarons, Jeanne Baxtresser, Judith Bentley, Kate Lukas, Peter Lloyd, and Trygve Peterson. Her primary teachers have been: Jeffrey Khaner (Philadelphia Orchestra; Curtis Institute of Music), Walter Mayhall (Youngstown Symphony Orchestra - retired), George Pope (Akron Symphony Orchestra), and Jean-Louis Kashy (Tucson Symphony - retired). In addition, she has studied the Native American flute with R. Carlos Nakai, world-renowned performer, educator, scholar, lecturer, and recording artist on the Canyon Records label.

In addition to teaching flute studies, music theory, and world music at Christopher Newport University,  Dr. Joyce- Grendahl is the executive director of the International Native American Flute Association (www.inafa.org), a nonprofit organization whose goal is to foster the preservation, appreciation, and advancement of the Native American flute. This organization distributes a quarterly publication, Voice of the Wind, for which she writes, edits, and publishes. Also, Dr. Joyce-Grendahl is the Programs Coordinator for the annual Hampton Roads Flute Faire and is on the Flute Faire advisory board. In addition to the Native American flute and the orchestral flute, she plays the Chinese dizi, the Irish penny whistle/Irish flute, and the Norwegian overtone flute.

Her professional affiliations include: The International Native American Flute Association, National Flute Association, Society for Ethnomusicology, College Music Society, Golden Key National Honor Society, National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Dr. Joyce-Grendahl is on the screening committee for a GRAMMY awards category for NARAS - Best Native American Music Recording.