Dr. Joyce F. Johnson

HONOREE Dr. Joyce F. Johnson

Joyce Finch Johnson, D. Mus., AAGO, is Professor Emerita of Music and currently College Organist at Spelman College in Atlanta GA, a position she has held since 1955. She has had an active career as a college teacher, music department chair, and as a performing artist giving solo recitals, accompanying a variety of distinguished artists, playing chamber music concerts, and performing piano concertos with various symphony orchestras

A charter member of The Society, Incorporated – Greater Atlanta Chapter, Johnson has been heralded as “pianist extraordinaire, astounding and thrilling audiences with her consummate artistry, formidable bravura technique, great sensitivity and impeccable artistry.” She is on the International Roster of Steinway Artists. While pursuing graduate degrees in piano performance at Northwestern University, her primary teachers were Gui Mombaerts and Louis Crowder. She studied organ there and at other institutions with distinguished teachers including Richard Enright, Karel Paukert, and David Craighead.

A seasoned performer, Dr. Johnson has concertized in Haiti, the West Indies and Brazil, where she played piano concerts in Sao Paulo as part of an international music festival (the Primeira Semana de Musica das Americas). She also was Artist-in-Residence at the Pernambuco Conservatory of Music in Recife, Brazil, and performed piano concerts in that area of South America.

A child prodigy, Dr. Johnson’s first concert was given at age eleven. After college, performance opportunities increased to include chamber music, collaborations with distinguished artists, and guest solo appearances with symphony orchestras. She made her debut with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the Atlanta premiere performance of John La Montaine’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.

For decades she has been the organist for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Ecumenical Service at the historic Ebenezer Church in Atlanta.

Innumerable awards and honors received by Dr. Johnson include being designated Member Laureate of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity and the 2020 Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award presented by the American Guild of Organists.

Had I not been destined for a career in music, with all I know now about the world, its peoples, and the myriad of attending problems, the career I might have chosen would have been one to facilitate the growth of self-esteem in children.

– Dr. Joyce Johnson