Hi there, I'm Penny Johnson!
I'm a Canadian pianist, with a passion for the music of J.S. Bach. On my YouTube channel (@pennyplaysbach), you'll find performances, tutorials, practice tips, shorts and even some narrations of historic piano texts. Born out of a need to find new ways of being creative – a result of the forced isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – it turned out that making videos proved to be one of the most exciting opportunities that I have ever stumbled upon. I love growing my channel and have many ideas for future content!
My early studies were in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with Margaret Hart and Dale Innes. Following high school, I pursued Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance, at the Eastman School of Music, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. My teachers in New York included Constance Keene and Barry Snyder.
A semi-finalist at the 8th International J.S. Bach Piano Competition in Würzburg, Germany, I've been fortunate to be a recipient of grants from The Banff Centre and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Greatly influenced by Glenn Gould, I maintained a blog (Further North) devoted to the Canadian pianist, from 2017-26. Formerly, I served as a contributing author for The Glenn Gould Foundation, in Toronto.
Active as a teacher and adjudicator, I have created several independent lectures pertaining to pianists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lectures such as Piano Stories with Penny and The Great Pianists: Stories, Music & More, have been enthusiastically received by audiences and staff alike, at both public libraries and private events.
Additionally, I am a former member of the College of Examiners for The Royal Conservatory and have also worked for Steinway & Sons, both in New York City at the historic Steinway Hall, as well as in Canada at Steinway Piano Gallery Toronto.
As a former Vice President and member of the Board of Directors for The Chamber Music Society of Mississauga, I curated a program of works for solo piano, to accompany Carl Th. Dreyer’s classic silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928).
During the pandemic, I created a podcast (From Stage to Page) devoted to the forgotten stories and memoirs of female performing artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I have also been researching my dear teacher, the late American concert pianist, Constance Keene. Currently, I reside in the Niagara region of Ontario.