Beverley Peck Johnson

Beverley Peck Johnson (sometimes referred to as Beverley Johnson) (June 12, 1904 – January 20, 2001) was an American voice teacher, soprano, and pianist who taught on the faculties of several institutions, including the Juilliard School. Her pupils included several prominent opera singers, actors, and entertainers, including sopranos Renée Fleming, Renata Tebaldi, Anna Moffo, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, and actors Madeline Kahn, Kevin Kline, and Constance Towers among others. Music critic Anthony Tommasini wrote that "Johnson was particularly valued by students for a keen ability to find individual solutions to their problems."

Born Beverley Peck in Portland, Oregon, Johnson was the daughter of Hartwig O. Peck and Cecilia W. Peck. She grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, and earned degrees in both speech and drama from the Ellison-White Conservatory in Portland. Shortly thereafter she moved to New York where she began studies in piano with Andre Kostelanetz, and was soon active as an accompanist for singers and ensembles in NYC.

Peck studied voice with one of the singers she accompanied in NYC, tenor Hardesty Johnson, who became her husband. Her husband was a faculty member at the Juilliard School and she served as his studio accompanist during lessons and for masterclasses. She often performed in joint recital with her husband as both a pianist and a soprano vocalist. She accompanied other well known singers as well in concerts during her career. Hardesty Johnson died in 1952.

In 1960, Johnson joined the voice faculty of the School of Sacred Music at the Union Theological Seminary where she taught until 1965. She joined the faculty at the Juilliard School in 1964 where she taught until her death 37 years later. She concurrently worked on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School; as an adjunct professor at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College; and as a professor at the Manhattan School of Music from 1982–1989.

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