St. Pete Beach Native Inducted Into Steinway Teacher Hall Of Fame

ST. PETE BEACH, FL — Rebecca Penneys, a local piano teacher from St. Pete Beach, has been inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame, a prestigious designation recognizing the work of North America’s most committed and passionate piano educators. 2021 marks the second class of honorees, following the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2019.

Penneys is a recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator and adjudicator. For over six decades, her passionate and insightful performances have held audiences spellbound. Hailed as a pianist of prodigious talent, she possesses a daredevil technique, the sort of charismatic stage presence that demands attention, and an interpretive gift that make her performances into musical revelations.

The Music Gallery in Tampa are second- and third-generation piano merchants with family lineages that include technicians, musicians, teachers, directors, vocalists and writers who have been serving the Tampa Bay area for more than 25 years.

This fall, 44 teachers from the United States and Canada were inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame with special events hosted at the historic Steinway factory in New York City. Each teacher inducted into the Hall of Fame was nominated by a Steinway & Sons showroom in the teacher’s home region. The teachers’ names are now displayed on a commemorative display wall inside the iconic factory.

“Music education has been a cornerstone of our historic company since the late 1800s, and today is no different,” said Gavin English, president of Steinway & Sons Americas. “We are very proud to work with the talented music educators inducted this fall into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame. These teachers foster passion, creativity, and discipline in the next generation of piano artists. Their work deserves the highest praise.”

This press release was produced by Steinway & Sons. The views expressed here are the author's own.