Joan Pinkston

Joan J. Pinkston was born in Chicago and reared in Milwaukee, where she early displayed unusual musical gifts. She began serving as pianist of her church at age ten and appeared regularly as a pianist on local television and in classical music concerts by age twelve. In high school she studied with concert pianist Alvine Sineps at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.  

She continued her musical training at Bob Jones University, where she studied with Alice Gingery, Frank Garlock, and Dwight Gustafson and earned a BA and MA in piano performance. Joan did further study at the Hartt College of Music with Alfred Kanwischer, at Westminster Choir College under Alice Parker, and she did summer study with concert pianist Leo Litwin. Joan is a member of several national and regional music organizations and is a Fellow of Melodious Accord.

Joan has published numerous traditionally styled sacred choral pieces, primarily with SoundForth and Beckenhorst Press. In 2002, Joan's 816-page hymnbook, Hymns of Grace and Glory, was published and features more than seventy of her own hymn tunes. During her 40 years as a professional musician she has published over 400 pieces of music, given over a hundred workshops on composing and arranging, and performed numerous sacred concerts. Her hymn arrangements for piano and orchestra are featured on the recording Our Great Savior released by Sacred Music Services in 1994. A recording of her piano arrangements, Our Song of Praise, was released in 2010. Joan has also written five film scores.

Joan has taught music theory, hymn improvisation, orchestration and choral composition at Bob Jones University for more than forty-five years Many of her former students are currently involved in writing, publishing, and performing sacred music. She serves as pianist at Faith Free Presbyterian Church of Greenville, SC.