Principal Pianist
Known for his versatile, knowledgeable, and above all musical approach to all styles of piano playing, American pianist John Goodwin has performed throughout the world to great acclaim. He was a featured performer in six productions of the highly respected multimedia series Beyond the Score with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, demonstrating the evolution of great orchestral works. He has also collaborated with such diverse artists as William Warfield, Joshua Bell, Kurt Elling, and Bobby McFerrin. Goodwin can regularly be heard in performance both as a soloist and collaborator throughout Chicago and beyond. He has performed in Orchestra Hall (on piano, fortepiano, and organ), at the Ravinia Festival, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall, as well as in major concert halls across South America, Europe, and Asia. On most weeknights, he can also be heard on public radio stations across the country, playing the opening theme music for Bill McGlaughlin’s popular program Exploring Music.
Goodwin was a collaborative pianist for the Steans Institute Program for Singers at the Ravinia Festival, exploring the art of the art song with many world-renowned singers and pianists. He served on the faculty of Northwestern University, coaching and performing a wide variety of choral, instrumental, and vocal repertoire with students and faculty alike. He was also the choral pianist at Roosevelt University for twenty years. He has been a featured performer at national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, the International Double Reed Society, and the National Flute Association, where he collaborated on the world premiere of Jean Françaix’s Flute Sonata. Goodwin is currently a pianist for the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Principal Pianist and Conductor-in-Residence of Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir), and pianist for the Music of the Baroque Chorus.
He has appeared as soloist with many orchestras in the Chicagoland area, including the Northbrook Symphony, conducted by Lawrence Rapchak, with whom he performed the world live premiere of The Christmas Piano Concertos, arranged by George Greeley, the celebrated Hollywood pianist, composer, and arranger of the 1950s and ’60s—a concert that was repeated two years later by overwhelmingly popular demand. Shortly thereafter, he performed a solo recital featured piano works by composers who blurred the lines between classical, popular, and jazz styles. Throughout lockdown he taught Music History and Theory virtually for Uniting Voices Chicago, and when lockdown was lifted, he was thrilled to return to live performance at the Midsummer’s Music Chamber Music Festival in Door County, Wisconsin. His latest solo recital consisted of pieces which have had special meaning to him throughout his life in music.
Goodwin continues to record a wide variety of music from home, including a reimagining of Bach’s complete Well-Tempered Clavier and an album of original solo piano music, Leap Year, now available on Spotify and other streaming platforms.