JoVia Armstrong is an award-winning percussionist, composer, and educator whose work blends rhythm, technology, and experimental composition. Born in Detroit, Armstrong has performed with artists including UK artist Omar, El DeBarge, flutist Nicole Mitchell, Isaiah Sharkey, Jeff Parker, Les Nubians, Res, The Impressions, Frank McComb, and Malian musicians Ballaké Sissoko and Babani Koné. She also appears in Johnny Gill’s music video Soul of a Woman, featuring Tiffany Haddish.

She was voted as one of the best percussionists in the world by DownBeat Magazine’s 74th Annual Critics Poll (July 2026). In 2015, she was awarded Best Black Female Percussionist of the Year by the Black Women in Jazz Awards.

A highly respected leader in the creative music community, Armstrong is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in Chicago, where she served on the executive board as Secretary and chaired the membership committee. She is an endorsed artist with QSC, Sabian, Icon Pro Audio, and Gon Bops.

Her performance style bridges acoustic and electronic percussion, drawing influence from a diverse range of global traditions. She leads the electroacoustic ensemble Eunoia Society, which explores sound as a healing tool through immersive audio and contemplative composition to combat unconscious bias. Their albums The Antidote Suite (2022) and Inception (2023) received widespread acclaim in The New York Times, DownBeat, JazzTimes, and The Wire.

An active educator and mentor for over two decades, she taught digital media and audio production and served youth in Chicago through YOUmedia and Digital Youth Network. Her work in this area earned her the 3Arts Siragusa Foundation Artist Award in 2011. She is dedicated to reaching young girls and introducing them to electronic music production and sound technology to help them build their self-esteem. Armstrong earned her Ph.D. in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology from UC Irvine in 2022. She now serves as Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Virginia, where she teaches in the Composition and Computer Technology Program while researching the intersection of Black contemplative music, technology, and urban space.