About Me
My name is Myvanwy Ella Penny. I am a German-British concert violinist and experienced violin teacher. I founded my violin school, The Penny Violin Academy, in 2010 in Berlin and have been continuing it in my hometown of Freiburg since 2016. Teaching is my passion. True to the principle “While we teach, we learn”, I learn something new in every single lesson – and I am deeply grateful for that. It has shaped me into the violinist, musician, and teacher I am today.
Teaching is my passion. True to the principle “While we teach, we learn”, I learn something new in every lesson. I am grateful for that; it has shaped me into the violinist, musician, and teacher I am today.
My teaching experience goes back to my youth. As a scholarship recipient of the Pflüger Foundation for gifted violinists, my teacher, Prof. Wolfgang Marschner, encouraged me early on to support younger students and accompany them on their professional path.
My musical journey took me to Berlin, where I studied with the renowned professor Nora Chastain at the University of the Arts (UdK). I completed my violin studies there with the Konzertexamen, graduating with top honors. During this time, I also worked as an assistant to Prof. Wolfgang Marschner, my long-standing mentor. From 2009 to 2016, I was a teaching assistant at the UdK Berlin in Prof. Chastain’s class and taught my own group of highly talented young students at the Julius Stern Institute for the Promotion of Young Musicians.
My experience as a soloist plays an important role in my teaching, and my students benefit greatly from it. My repertoire is broad, and I draw on my own concert and competition experience – and of course, I can demonstrate everything myself.
I am especially passionate about chamber music. It encourages musical spontaneity and flexibility, improves intonation and listening skills – and above all, making music with others is simply a joy. Performing in concerts is also a wonderful way to showcase one’s skills and work toward a goal; public performances are therefore a regular and important part of the training.
Biography
Myvanwy Ella Penny has been a brilliant and sensitive violinist firmly rooted in the classical music world for many years, using her musicality to inspire both audiences and young musicians alike.
A special focus of hers is working on and presenting rarely performed works alongside the standard concert repertoire. Recognized as an exceptional talent, she is a sought-after soloist, performing with orchestras both nationally and internationally, and is a regular guest at international festivals, including the Marschner Festival Hinterzarten and the Beethoven Festival Sutri in Italy.
Her artistic achievements have been documented through numerous radio broadcasts, CD recordings, and a portrait feature on SWR television. From the age of six, Myvanwy Ella Penny gave her first public concerts and was soon after awarded a scholarship by the Pflüger Foundation for young gifted violinists in Freiburg.
During this time, she won several national and international competitions, including multiple first prizes at Jugend Musiziert, first prize at the international Max Reger Chamber Music Competition in Sondershausen, and the WDR3 Classical Music Award of the city of Münster.
Following her violin studies at the University of the Arts Berlin with Prof. Nora Chastain, which she completed with top marks, she earned her concert exam with distinction, performing Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto. As a prizewinner of the Ibolyka Gyarfas Competition in Berlin, she gained wider public recognition.
With Sir Yfrah Neaman, Prof. Rainer Kussmaul, Klaus Bruder, and the Artemis Quartet, she perfected her playing and shaped her distinctive style as a soloist and chamber musician. Her concert career is now complemented by her own teaching and intensive mentoring of young talent.
Myvanwy Ella Penny’s broad repertoire spans more than 400 years of music. She has developed a particular passion for contemporary works and premieres, including Wolfgang Marschner’s “Sonata for Violin and Viola for One Player”.
