Richard Johnson, composition

Richard Johnson is a multimedia artist and composer whose interest in music was piqued during a childhood heavily impacted by film.  Equal parts Kurosawa and Spielberg combined to create his ongoing interest in culture and history, the music of Takemitsu and Williams, and an obsession with mystery, adventure, and storytelling. This blend of interests is most clearly present in his dissertation, a set of pieces for soloists and audiovisual media entitled Quaerere Sententias.

Dr. Johnson’s music has been performed throughout the United States and internationally, and has been presented at events such as SEAMUS, Electronic Music Midwest, Electro-Acoustic Barn Dance, SCI conferences, Thailand International Composers’ Festival, and the Festival Internacional Punto de Ecuentro in Spain.

In 2012, Johnson received his DMA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he studied with Chen Yi, James Mobberley, Paul Rudy, and Zhou Long.  He also holds degrees from the Hartt School at University of Hartford (MM) and West Chester University of Pennsylvania (BM).