Mr. Dennis Johnson
Past President/ Parliamentarian
World Association for Symphonic Bands & Ensembles
Dennis L. Johnson is presently Director of Bands and Orchestra and Professor of Music at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. At Murray State he conducts the Chamber Winds, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the University Symphony Orchestra and the pit orchestra for the operas and musicals. He also instructs the undergraduate and graduate classes in “Basic”, “Instrumental” and “Advanced Conducting”.
Additionally he serves as the Past President for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) and as the Artistic Director for World Projects Wind Band Festival in Washington, DC. He has served as Kentucky State Chairman for the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and state collegiate representative for the Kentucky Music Educator’s Association (KMEA).
Under Mr. Johnson’s leadership the Murray State University Wind Ensemble has made several prestigious appearances including two special invitational concerts in Carnegie Hall; two appearances at the College Band Directors National Association Conventions and at the International Wind Band Conference in Manchester, England. In the Spring of 2009 thy will perform in the great hall at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Upon completion of his undergraduate studies at The University of Michigan, Mr. Johnson spent seven years as Director of Bands in the public school systems of Boyne City and Traverse City, Michigan. In 1975 he was appointed Director of Bands and Personnel Coordinator for The Interlochen Center for the Arts. His development of the wind band program at the Arts Academy earned him high praise. Following four very successful years at Interlochen Mr. Johnson enrolled as the first D.M.A. Candidate in Instrumental Conducting at Michigan State University. Upon completion of the first year of the program, Mr. Johnson was offered the Director of Wind Ensembles position at Western Illinois University.
He was appointed to his present position in 1985. In 1998, Phi Beta Mu honored Mr. Johnson as its "Outstanding Contributor to Bands". In 2002 he was inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association (ABA). In May of 2000 Mr. Johnson was a guest clinician and conductor for the “Corso per Direzione de Banda” in Cremona, Italy. He has recently appeared as a guest conductor for the Hartwick Music Camp in New York, the famed Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and for the “Festival Wind Honors Orchestra” in San Luis Obispo, California.
In the Fall of 2001 Professor Johnson spent two weeks in Austria working with bands and directors throughout that country while guest conducting the wind ensemble of the famed Bruckner Conservatory. In the Spring of 2003 he guest conducted the China Youth Corps Band in Taiwan. In the summer of 2003 he directed the youth honor band at the Mid-Europe conference in Schladming, Austria. In the Summer of 2004, Mr. Johnson began serving as the “Chairman of the Executive” for the “World Cup for Bands” which had its first contest in the summer of 2004 in Vienna, Austria and its second conference in 2006 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. In September of 2004 Mr. Johnson guest conducted the Central Air Force Band of Japan and the Australian Youth Honors Wind Band in Brisbane, Australia.
Mr. Johnson has accepted numerous invitations to conduct honor bands, orchestras and professional bands in Argentina, Australia, Austria, China, Colombia, England, Israel, France, Germany, Korea, Italy, The Netherlands, Hungary, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Canada and in most states throughout the U.S. He is presently listed in the prestigious Marquis’ “Who’s Who” and the Cambridge “Dictionary of International Biography”.
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