Contemporary Music Forum: REPLACE

LURA JOHNSON

PIANO

Hailed as “brilliant” by the Washington Post, Lura Johnson has appeared in concert throughout the US as a soloist and chamber musician. Praised for her “invention, originality, and marvelous sense of flow,” she has presented recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Washington D.C.’s Phillips Collection. She has both commissioned and premiered works by Jeffrey Mumford, performing them at the Kennedy Center and Washington’s Corcoran Gallery.

Prizewinner in such competitions as the William Byrd Competition, Midland-Odessa National Young Artist Competition, and Wideman International Piano Competition, Johnson has appeared as soloist with the Shepherd Symphony and the Da Camera Players.

Strongly commited to new music, she performs regularly with the Towson New Music Ensemble and the Contemporary Music Forum, the ground-breaking new music ensemble in residence at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington. She recently won top honors for best performance of a contemporary work at both the Garrison Competition and the International Russian Music Competition.

In great demand as a chamber musician, Ms. Johnson has performed with violists Victoria Chiang and Carol Rodland, cellists Antonio Lysy, Michael Kannen, and Michael Reynolds, pianist Seth Knopp, and violinist William Fedkenheuer. Her numerous collaborations with Baltimore Symphony musicians include recitals with violists Peter Minkler and Karin Brown, violinist Ken Goldstein and cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn. In 2002 Ms. Johnson and award winning flutist Christina Jennings formed the Jennings-Johnson Duo, which tours regularly throughout the US. The Jennings-Johnson Duo is a musical partnership which celebrates the true spirit of collaboration. Inspired to explore all the combinations of the duo repertoire, they are challenging the traditional hierarchy of soloist and accompanist with performances that include solo works, transcriptions, and music of today. Each a virtuoso in her own right, their combined synergy attracts new audiences to the flute and piano medium. The Duo’s first CD, The Jennings-Johnson Duo, was released in January of 2006.

Ms. Johnson holds degrees from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and has gone on to study with luminaries Leon Fleisher and Robert McDonald at the Peabody Institute. A native of Oberlin, Ohio and daughter of musical parents, she served on the faculty of the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop from 2003-2005 and currently teaches at the Peabody Institute and Loyola College.


	Home Current Season Individual Bios History Mission Our Board Our Supporters Directions Donations From Our Chairman Our Reviews	LURA JOHNSON PIANO Hailed as “brilliant” by the Washington Post, Lura Johnson has appeared in concert throughout the US as a soloist and chamber musician. Praised for her “invention, originality, and marvelous sense of flow,” she has presented recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Washington D.C.’s Phillips Collection. She has both commissioned and premiered works by Jeffrey Mumford, performing them at the Kennedy Center and Washington’s Corcoran Gallery. Prizewinner in such competitions as the William Byrd Competition, Midland-Odessa National Young Artist Competition, and Wideman International Piano Competition, Johnson has appeared as soloist with the Shepherd Symphony and the Da Camera Players. Strongly commited to new music, she performs regularly with the Towson New Music Ensemble and the Contemporary Music Forum, the ground-breaking new music ensemble in residence at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington. She recently won top honors for best performance of a contemporary work at both the Garrison Competition and the International Russian Music Competition. In great demand as a chamber musician, Ms. Johnson has performed with violists Victoria Chiang and Carol Rodland, cellists Antonio Lysy, Michael Kannen, and Michael Reynolds, pianist Seth Knopp, and violinist William Fedkenheuer. Her numerous collaborations with Baltimore Symphony musicians include recitals with violists Peter Minkler and Karin Brown, violinist Ken Goldstein and cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn. In 2002 Ms. Johnson and award winning flutist Christina Jennings formed the Jennings-Johnson Duo, which tours regularly throughout the US. The Jennings-Johnson Duo is a musical partnership which celebrates the true spirit of collaboration. Inspired to explore all the combinations of the duo repertoire, they are challenging the traditional hierarchy of soloist and accompanist with performances that include solo works, transcriptions, and music of today. Each a virtuoso in her own right, their combined synergy attracts new audiences to the flute and piano medium. The Duo’s first CD, The Jennings-Johnson Duo, was released in January of 2006. Ms. Johnson holds degrees from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and has gone on to study with luminaries Leon Fleisher and Robert McDonald at the Peabody Institute. A native of Oberlin, Ohio and daughter of musical parents, she served on the faculty of the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop from 2003-2005 and currently teaches at the Peabody Institute and Loyola College. “All I say is that non-experts often know more than experts and should therefore be consulted and that prophets of truth (including those who use arguments) more often than not are carried along by a visions that clashes with the very events that vision is supposed to be exploring. ” --Paul K. Feyerabend, Against Method