Role

:

Composer  

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

May 12, 1952 in Madison, WI

Genre

:

Opera

 

 

Orchestral

 

 

Vocal

 

Scott Johnson is a contemporary classical music composer who was born on October 14, 1952, in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in a musical family, with his father being a jazz pianist and his mother a classical pianist. Johnson started playing the guitar at the age of 11 and was soon drawn to rock music. He played in several bands during his teenage years and was heavily influenced by the music of Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. After graduating from high school, Johnson attended the University of Rochester, where he studied music composition with Warren Benson and Samuel Adler. He also studied electronic music with Allan Schindler and David Cope. During this time, Johnson became interested in the music of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, two of the pioneers of minimalism. He was particularly drawn to their use of repetition and gradual change in their compositions. In 1977, Johnson moved to New York City and became involved in the downtown music scene. He played guitar in various bands and worked as a sound engineer for several avant-garde composers, including Robert Ashley and Alvin Lucier. Johnson also began composing his own music, which was heavily influenced by minimalism and rock music. One of Johnson's early works was "John Somebody," a composition for electric guitar and pre-recorded tape. The piece was inspired by a recording of a man named John Somebody, who had left a message on Johnson's answering machine. Johnson used the recording as the basis for the piece, manipulating it and layering it with his own guitar playing. "John Somebody" was premiered in 1980 and became one of Johnson's most well-known works. In the 1980s, Johnson began incorporating more traditional classical music elements into his compositions. He wrote several works for chamber ensembles, including "How It Happens" for string quartet and "Patty Hearst" for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. These works combined Johnson's minimalist style with more complex harmonies and rhythms. In the 1990s, Johnson began working with electronic music and sampling. He wrote several works for chamber ensembles and electronics, including "Mind Out of Matter" for string quartet and electronics and "Americans" for chamber ensemble and sampled speech. "Americans" was inspired by the 1992 presidential election and used samples of speeches by the candidates, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In the 2000s, Johnson continued to explore new musical territories. He wrote several works for large ensembles, including "How It Happens (The Voice of I.F. Stone)" for orchestra and "John Somebody (The Voice of John Lennon)" for chamber orchestra. These works combined Johnson's minimalist style with more complex orchestration and extended techniques. One of Johnson's most recent works is "Mind Out of Matter II," a composition for string quartet and electronics. The piece was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and premiered in 2018. It combines Johnson's minimalist style with electronic sounds and samples of speeches by scientists and philosophers. Throughout his career, Johnson has been recognized for his innovative approach to composition. He has received numerous awards and commissions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, and commissions from the New York Philharmonic and the Kronos Quartet.

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