Johanna Cox Pennington

An acclaimed performer and teacher, Johanna Cox Pennington joined the faculty at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music in 2023. She is the program coordinator for woodwind, brass and percussion areas and teaches oboe, chamber music and woodwind literature.

Pennington won her first concerto competition in her hometown of Rochester, NY at age 17 and was a featured soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. A graduate of Northwestern University and the Eastman School of Music, Pennington was chosen for Eastman’s Freiburg Exchange Program which took her to Germany to study with soloist Heinz Holliger at the Freiburg Musikhochschule.

Of her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 2005, the New York Concert Review stated, "…her technique is absolutely first rate, Miss Cox played with beautiful tone, even in the highest register and at the loudest dynamic. She is an oboist that any orchestra would be fortunate to have on its roster."

Prior to her appointment, she served as associate professor of oboe at Louisiana State University School of Music for 11 years and was a member of the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra for 17 years. She has recorded with the Prairie Winds and the Musical Arts Quintet on Albany Records, and her first solo album featured five newly commissioned works for oboe and English horn in 2018, including a concerto conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pennington has performed with many notable orchestras, including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Chicago Symphony. She has taught oboe clinics, given master classes, performed as concerto soloist with orchestra and in recitals at major universities, taking her in recent years to Europe, South America, Asia and throughout the US. "Johanna will have a positive impact on the world of music, on those who study with her, as well as those who hear her perform." – Eastman School of Music.

Previously, she was substitute oboe with the Baton Rouge Symphony and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Pennington was also associate professor of oboe at Ball State University, one year sabbatical. She was also an associate professor of Oboe at the University of Oklahoma School of Music, 2^nd oboe and English horn with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. She was a visiting assistant professor of Oboe at Oklahoma State University College of Music, and 2^nd oboe and English horn of the Tulsa Symphony.

Publications

"Orion Nocturne: World Premiere Music for Oboe and English horn Commissioned by Johanna Cox Pennington," Albany Records, 2018

Musical Arts Quintet "American Breeze" CD, Albany Records, 2012

Prairie Winds "Gale Force" CD, Albany Records, 2000

Invited Addresses

Pennington has performed regularly at the International Double Reed Society Conferences (IDRS) and has been featured as a soloist at the highlighted evening concerts at four different conferences.

She has performed as a soloist at Carnegie hall three times.

Reviews

“Orion Nocturne is a stunning narrative with Pennington’s warm oboe tone and dazzling technique. (Rondo Roto) is the perfect finale for such a fascinating and imaginative musical journey.” – The Double Reed, Volume 45 No. 1, 2022

"Johanna Cox Pennington drew forth gorgeous tones from her English Horn in the Threnos, which was uniformly mournful in tone, appropriate to its subject..." – New York Concert Review, 2019

"Johanna Cox Pennington performs all of these works, solo, ensemble, and concertate with tremendous panache. Her tone is liquid and never shrill or piercing and her choice of repertoire refreshing and surprising." – Fanfare Magazine 2016