Joachim Birman was born in 1995 in the United States to French parents and later returned to Marseille, France, where he began his musical education.

At the age of seven, he began studying the cello with Manfred Stilz at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Marseille. He later completed his pre-university studies in Paris at the École Normale de Musique with Prof. Geneviève Teulières-Sommer and at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris with Prof. Hélène Dautry.

From 2017 to 2023, he studied at the Haute École de Musique Valais in Sion, Switzerland, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under the guidance of Prof. Xavier Phillips. Since 2023, he has continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Germany with Prof. Thomas Carroll.

Alongside his studies, he has participated in masterclasses with Arto Noras, Frans Helmerson, and Natalia Gutman, and has received chamber music coaching from Boris Kuznetsov, Tatjana Masurenko, and the Danish String Quartet.

Joachim Birman is a member of the Lausanne Soloists, the Abraxas Ensemble, and other ensembles in Switzerland. He has performed chamber music at the Tibor Varga Festival, at the competition in Kloster Schöntal, and in concerts with the Ensemble Instrumental de Gryon.

Joachim Birman is a prizewinner of several national and international competitions: he won the Heran International Competition (2011) and the Prix Jacques-Henry Plomb in 2020 and 2022. He reached the semi-finals of the 27th International Brahms Competition (2020) and the 12th International Lutosławski Cello Competition (2024). Since 2026, he has been on trial with the London Symphony Orchestra.