J.J. Penna
My professional life has revolved around joining the worlds of music and narrative. Most singers I know are born communicators, possessing an intuitive sense of how to interpret and dramatize a text. In the studio and in the classroom, I honor these intrinsic gifts while helping young artists engage deeply with the sounds and structures of language as they are given new life in song. The relationship between singer and score is a dynamic one: No two interpretations (or interpreters) are alike. I encourage my students to think creatively as they explore the repertoire, to hold sacred the musical notation and its traditions as they uncover the expressive impulses that are most powerfully their own.
J.J. Penna
J.J. Penna has performed extensively with a variety of eminent singers, including Kathleen Battle, Harolyn Blackwell, Measha Brueggergosman, David Daniels, Denyce Graves, Ying Huang, Susan Narucki, Roberta Peters, Florence Quivar, and Andreas Scholl. He has held fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale Summer School of Music, Music Academy of the West, and the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program.
Penna is a recital and art-song coach in the Yale Opera program at the Yale School of Music. He also teaches at the New England Conservatory, the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute, and Carnegie Hall’s SongStudio. Devoted to the teaching of classical song literature, Penna has been on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival/Yale Summer School of Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Westminster Choir College at Rider University, and the Vancouver International Song Institute.
He received his training under Martin Katz, Margo Garrett, and Diane Richardson.
