Brandon Johnson

A photo of Brandon Johnson

Director, Choral Activities

Music

107 Alexander

734.487.0280

[email protected]

Office Hours

Set up a meeting with Dr. Johnson

 

* If your meeting is regarding advising please make sure that you watch the video tutorial playlist and check the advising materials. Most non-transfer questions can be answered on one of these two resources.  

Biography

Award-winning teacher, scholar, and conductor Dr. Brandon Johnson is the Founder & Artistic Director of BEYOND, a choral ensemble for professional musicians, and the Director of Choral Activities at Eastern Michigan University.  He is broadly recognized for his work with high school & collegiate singers and has conducted ensembles and taught masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and the United States. 

Choirs under his direction have been invited to perform for multiple state and regional American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and National Association for Music Education (NAFME) conferences. He has performed in the most prestigious concert halls across the country, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the renowned Carnegie Hall. 

He has conducted choral ensembles in every facet of the profession and takes pride in pursuing excellence in choral art to enrich and affirm musicians of all ages. Past artistic appointments include The Director of Choral Activities at Houghton College, Interim Associate Director of Choirs at the University of Michigan, the Founder and Artistic Director of the semi-professional vocal ensemble of Vox Lumine, Artistic Director of the Detroit Performing Artists, the Conductor of the Symphonic Choir at the University of Arizona, the Director of Choirs at Duluth East High School and Springfield Public Schools, and multiple sacred music appointments.

Dr. Johnson's choral-orchestral training includes study with German conductor Helmuth Rilling and American conductors Neil Varon and Dr. Bruce Chamberlain. In addition to his work with university orchestras at EMU and Houghton, he has received invitations to conduct the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus, Buffalo Choral Artists, Continuo Arts Orchestra of New York, Michigan Sinfonietta, Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Rochester Oratorio Society, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony, Cordancia, and The Southern Tier Symphony on collaborative projects.

​Respected by his faculty colleagues, he has been awarded multiple teaching and artistic awards. At Eastern Michigan University, he was selected to receive the Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Creative Activity Award, the highest honor the University presents to an individual faculty member. At Houghton College, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award and was the first recipient of the first fully endowed chair at Houghton College, the Horne-Blanchard.

Scholarly and creative interests include choral composition, twenty-first-century choral program development, and the use of virtual reality technology as a tool for training.

Education

  • DMA, Choral Conducting University of Arizona
  • MM, Choral Conducting University of Arizona
  • BM, Music Education Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
Additional Study
  • Music Education Westminster Choir College - Rider University
  • Orchestral Conducting Eastman School of Music
  • Oregon Bach Festival University of Oregon

Interests and Expertise

Ensemble Conducting

Courses

  • EMU Choir
  • School of Music & Dance Advising
  • Private Conducting Lessons

Advising

Tuesday, 10 a.m. and Thursday, 3 p.m.
Set up a meeting

Grants, Honors and Awards

  • Michigan Arts and Cultural Affairs Grant Award
  • Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Creative Activity Award
  • Multiple Summer Research Grants for Composition
  • Excellence in Teaching Award
  • American Choral Directors Association Invited Guest Conductor, Conference Performances & Presentations