Callanwolde Fine Arts Center Hires New Executive Director

Callanwolde officials released this announcement on Jan. 28:

The Callanwolde Foundation Board of Directors and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center staff cordially welcome Peggy Still Johnson as their new Executive Director beginning February 4th, 2013.

Peggy Still Johnson is not a newcomer to business or the arts – she is a successful entrepreneur and an accomplished piano and vocal performer, composer, arranger, and arts educator. She attended Brigham Young University and Georgia State University, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree, magna cum laude. Recipient of the Champion Award from the Entrepreneur Network at Georgia State University, she has also been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Peggy is currently on the Advisory Board of the Georgia State University School of Music and the Board of Governors (Composer Seat) of the Atlanta Chapter of The Recording Academy (Grammy Organization). She is on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Film Festival and has been chosen as a member of the prestigious Leadership Atlanta (Class of 2013). Peggy has served on the Fulton County Arts Council Literary-Media Grant Approval Panel and has worked with the Atlanta Music Project as an Executive Board Member. She has also served on the Dallas Austin Foundation, the Buckhead Club, and was on the Board of Directors for Mainstreet Woodstock, City of Woodstock.

She performed with the GSU University Singers at Lincoln Center in New York and has performed professionally since 1982 in South America, Jamaica, and throughout the United States, including a performance in Hawaii for President and Barbara Bush.

Peggy founded The Peggy Still School of Music in 1988. The school has grown to an enrollment of over 600 students and 45 degreed instructors in three locations: Atlanta, Alpharetta and Woodstock, Georgia. She successfully sold the school in 2011. Peggy has also enjoyed working with the many schools in North Fulton County as the pianist for choral and drama productions and has been asked to speak at many schools and colleges throughout Metro Atlanta. She was also a featured speaker at Emmy Award winner Scott Houston’s “Play Piano in a Flash” national seminar in Indiana.

Peggy also founded Peggy Johnson Productions and Talent and has been active in the film and recording industry as a composer, music supervisor, casting agent and coach. She has worked on films such as “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Big Mama’s House 3,” and “Parental Guidance.” In 2010 Peggy received composing, casting and coaching credit for her work in the independent film  “Requiem for Herstory,” which was nominated for Best Short Film in the Toronto Female Eye Film Festival. The film was also screened at the New Filmmakers Summer Festival in New York City and has received praise from the faculty of the Columbia University Film Department. Peggy composed the film’s theme song, "Pie Jesu" which was on the ballot for the 54th Grammy Awards. Peggy has worked on other award winning films including one featured at Cannes Film Festival and a documentary, and “Point of Light” presentation at the Kennedy Center. She also arranged music for the dedication of the Mormon temple in Atlanta. Recently, Peggy worked with Stephen King, John Mellencamp, and T Bone Burnett on their musical production “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County” as the vocal coach and copyist (working on the musical score.) Peggy has also been a talent scout for “America’s Got Talent.”

As Executive Director, Peggy will be responsible for the leadership and management of Callanwolde Fine Arts Center and oversee the preservation and development of the Callanwolde Estate. Peggy is passionately dedicated to the arts, which she believes touch the lives and souls of the community as a whole.

“Callanwolde Fine Arts Center is the destination that all my life’s experiences have brought me to. The beautiful mansion and estate is something I feel passionate about preserving and promoting. The fine arts program offers a variety of classes for all ages in the literary, visual, and performing arts. Having worked in arts education for over twenty years, I am very excited to continue the growth of Callanwolde’s fine arts program and also develop outreach programs for those in need in our community. Callanwolde is part of Atlanta history and I am honored to be a part of Callanwolde,” says Peggy Still Johnson.