Cultural heritage: an interview with composer and pianist Mikhail Johnson
Most professional classical pianists receive formal musical training from a young age and it’s rare that a pianist’s natural talents are so strong that they evolved organically. Composer and pianist Mikhail Johnson is one such musician. Born and raised the rural hills of Maroon Town in the parish of St. James, Jamaica, he began his musical journey learning hymn tunes by ear. In addition to playing the piano for church, Johnson excelled on the recorder and as a vocalist. Through school classes he learned to read music, and toward the end of his pre-university schooling, wrote his first song. It wasn’t until he was working on his undergraduate degree in Biological Science that he took his first formal piano and composition lessons and was encouraged to pursue music professionally.
Today, Johnson enjoys a national career as both a concert pianist and a composer. In his performances he seeks to “showcases the breath of musical ideas and stories” and to break down barriers for those who think classical music isn’t for them. In his compositions Johnson explores heritage—his own, others with whom he collaborates, and also the rich canon of European classical music. Through all aspects of his career, he celebrates the legacy of his Jamaican roots, the richness of diversity, and the faith that classical music contains the power to reach and include everyone. It is an honor to feature him on No Dead Guys.
I understand that you began your piano playing as an ear learner, picking out hymn tunes on your piano. When did you begin formal lessons, and how did that time playing without written notes hone your ability to listen?
I received formal lessons briefly in the 2nd grade, as there was a piano teacher that resided at the school. I am assuming my lessons halted because I had transferred to another school. Also, within that time I was learning to read music partially through playing the recorder, which was an integral part of the music curriculum. I also learned by watching my mother take piano lessons just to have me around the instrument. But would say I officially began formal lessons in 2007 during my undergraduate college degree.
Playing without written notes really channeled my inner game of playing follow-the-leader, solving puzzles, and playing detective. I learned to listen in-depth. I was able to identify aurally certain patterns and relationships in music that made memorizing quite an enjoyable process. It also made improvising and learning to play along with other musicians on the fly relatively easy because like a language, I was learning music vocabulary.
This skill was honed being in the church, constantly surrounded by and engaging with gospel music. I had to replicate many praise and worship/anthem accompaniments for church choirs just from a CD I was given, and I would have my ears glued to the speakers because I had to learn it all in a very short time. It also allowed me to thoroughly appreciate the intricacies of what was occurring simultaneously in the music. Without even knowing it at the time, I learned to create a reduction of sorts—giving little glimpses of these intricacies and providing a semblance of the original on one instrument. This opened my ears to new ways of listening and taught me to take certain musical elements that I enjoyed, and like a new word, find ways to incorporate them in my everyday speech.
I read that at a young age you began playing hymns for church. How did immersion in this 4-part writing influence your own compositional style?
The way I engaged with the hymns growing up was not from the vantage point of learning the 4-part harmony. Rather, through my knowledge of the melodies—because they sang them so often—I was able to figure out general chordal structure of the accompanying voices. Then came the flashy finishing touches and filigree I was copying from learning classical music pieces. So, it was very much an improvisation affair. Then what would happen is I would let the lyrics of these hymns dictate how I would be playing in that moment. Without realizing it, I was text painting. I will say the idea of the four-part writing did help me understand why the older folks sang the way they did compared to the way of the young gospel choirs. The latter possessed an ever-present three-part harmony with no one taking anyone else’s note.
Nonetheless, in terms of its influence on my compositional style, as I got older, I gained much appreciation for 4-part harmony and was able to engage with gospel artists that utilized their classical training in that regard. It made me understand how the same intricacies I talked about while learning music by ear, were just a juxtaposition of relatively simple parts that sounded beautiful on their own. I would say it provided an answer to the why and how. So, when it came to my compositions, I was able to apply these rules of 4-part in a more modern context. I also got to play around with more rhythmic movement, layering several rhythms at the same time.
You first gained recognition as a performer—on piano as well as voice and the recorder. When did you begin composing and what encouraged you to do so?
I never made the connection between improvising and composing until I was in my senior year of high school. We had to do these SAT-level music examinations and one practical requirement was to compose three contrasting pieces that I had to prepare, perform, record, and submit. Although my attempts were basically mimicking the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, and Joplin, this was the first time it dawned on me that improvising was a form of composing. With that I was learning to, in essence, write my improvisations down on paper. It was a real eye-opening experience for me, but at the time it was primarily for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements.
Fast forward to my undergraduate college days where I minored in music. I took a music theory summer course with professor Dr. Andrew Marshall. He gave an assignment to compose a choral anthem that was patriotic in subject and based on the concepts we spoke about in class. Dr. Marshall was quite impressed with my assignment. So much so that he brought me to his office, gave me suggestions on what I should consider correcting, and if he could receive the piece with these corrections in the next few days, he would be honored to have the University Chamber Ensemble perform it for their upcoming concert and tour.
I was mind blown because for the first time I was in the process of the composer-performer dialogue. Also, hearing my first composition performed by someone else and in a professional setting. The feelings were indescribable. The performances were well received, and that was the start of not only a stunning mentorship, but also my growth as a choral composer in the footsteps of Dr. Marshall. He has performed many more of my choral works since then, promoting them at his Choral Scholars’ Festival. This was the moment I saw composition as an added fixture to my music journey.
Given that your undergraduate degree is in Biological Science, what or who gave you the encouragement to switch to piano performance and composition when you pursued your Master’s degrees?
I was two years into my Bio Science degree when I heard that this piano professor, Kimberly Cann, was a recently appointed piano faculty at the university, fresh out of Eastman. So I thought, this is the closest I’ll get to studying with someone from a “brand name school.”
So, I introduced myself to her, our conversation unfolded quite organically, and I eventually expressed that I would like to audition for her. She accepted the request and after my performance, she said “I would be delighted to be your teacher.” Then came the turning point. Ms. Cann had now heard my playing a few times so, at one of our piano lessons, she asked: “have you ever considered music to be a life-long career?” I explained to her that I had but basically gave up because of scholarship, age, training, basically all the limitations that were stacked against me at the time, which was why I ended up studying science but still wanted to be heavily involved in music because I could not resist it.
It was quite a vulnerable moment for me because I thought it was going to be one of those “stick to your current path” moments. Instead, she said “What you have is truly a gift! and I think you should consider music as a career.” For the first time I felt what she uttered was possible simply because of the way she taught me. I felt and saw a transformation in my playing in real time and it was at the level I had always dreamed of acquiring. So, when she made that statement, I believed her. I only had her for one semester but, I took all her lessons, advice and mentorship and used it to fuel my quest to get to the next level.
After my science degree, my vision was to go overseas to study music. I was not sure how, but it was the dream and goal ever since. I thought also that if I wanted to try studying composition, I wanted to study at a school that taught avant-garde contemporary music, so I could mix that with the traditional concepts I learned. Little did I know that 2 years later, I would be given a grand opportunity to study with full scholarship at Bowling Green State University—the mecca for contemporary music. It was a no brainer. I took full advantage and fed two birds with one seed.
What composers most influence your compositional style?
Johannes Brahms. Although growing up Grieg was the hook, Bach the line, and Brahms was the sinker. It had everything to do with Brahm’s approach to rhythm as the primary driving language of his music. It always captivated me how the other elements of his music would be dedicated by said rhythmic pulse. Also, his works (even his piano music) are quite expansive and symphonic in nature. You really must take great care not to let the music sound dense although it naturally is, and to let the sonorous prose of his music speak with the expansion it requires. These features really influence the music I write.
The other composers that influence my style are ever-changing, depending on what I am writing or who I’m listening to at that moment. However, the composers that I feel have a recurring appearance to some degree are: Samuel Barber, George Walker, Thomas Adès, William Grant Still, George Crumb, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Lili Boulanger, and Debussy.
You’ve written that your Jamaican heritage influences the language of your compositions. In what way do you feel this is reflected in your piano music?
In my piano music (except for Wach ya Haydn which has no external Jamaican source outside of myself being Jamaican), the choice to incorporate the Jamaican influence occurs in the following ways:
Fram di Pliegroun (trans: From the playground) is an evocation of childhood memories on the Jamaican playground. Within that I utilize the rhythms of the Jamaican words spoken during the playing of ring games. For example: one-an’-twenty, bull ina pen, kiaã kom out (the bull in the pen cannot come out), and Unamina Desimina. The first is a counting game, the second is a taunting game and the last one is a made-up game played by my sister and I. For this piece, the use of language phonetics as the source of rhythm is in full effect.
In the third movement of Pepperpot for two pianos, I use the drumming patterns and folk songs performed in the traditional folk-dance form called Brukins. With songs like Di Queen a Come In, and Lost Can’t Find, I deconstructed the melodies and other parts of these songs and juxtaposed them to create my own musical features. In the final movement, I drew from another dance form, which is a Jamaican camp-style quadrille. There is a slow waltz dance number that takes place in the middle (the 2nd of a 3-dance set) to contrast the fast outer sections, and at the end to usher the dancers off stage, I used the melody of this number as an element for the work.
In Poison|Poisson for two harpsichords, there is not much here as the piece is about the inner turmoil of a poisoned fish. However, in the climatic recapitulation during the fish’s hallucination, it believes it is dancing and the piece morphs into a morbid dance (in this context) which emulates Jamaican dancehall music but very Rite of Spring in nativity.
Although I utilize music of my heritage, it is very contextual, and it is not always my first point of contact. I do however represent Jamaica in extra musical ways, via writing the title and/or the movements of the piece in the Jamaican language, and using Jamaican scenery and personal stories for the overarching narrative.
Tell me about Wach ya Haydn, one of your most performed piano solos. How did you find a bridge between atonal elements, Jamaican ideas, and the music of Haydn?
Wach ya Haydn was commissioned by my alma mater Bowling Green State University for my friend and colleague Abigail Maser. It was a project in collaboration with doctoral student at the time Johnathan Taylor de Olivera, who sought to create works that would serve as the early collegiate student’s foray into contemporary music. To do this, eminent works in the classical piano repertoire were used as the catalyst. I was assigned Haydn’s Keyboard Sonata in D major Hob. XVI: 37.
Albeit no Jamaican ideas exist in this piece, I deconstructed the rhythmic motifs found in the first four bars of the sonata to create the entire piece. And through the lens of “what would Haydn do?” I tapped into Haydn’s use of motivic patterns, repetition, silence, and humor to shape the trajectory of the piece in the form of the hide and seek game revealing the full quote at the end.
It was basically using all the concepts already present in Haydn’s music as familiar ground to help the pianist new to contemporary music feel less scared in learning this kind of music. I’m very proud of how it turned out.
I’m intrigued by your emphasis on cultural heritage in music, especially in your recent work Pepperpot for Two Pianos, which blends your heritage with that of the two pianists who commissioned the work. How do you feel composers can borrow from cultures other than their own without veering into cultural appropriation?
I believe composers and by extension performers should enter these spaces of borrowing or performing music from other cultures with a form a reverence. The first question to ask is “why?” Why are you borrowing this material, or performing this piece? If the answer is to have something that’s rhythmic or exotic, then you need to take a step back and reevaluate your approach to the whole thing as it is not only limiting but also disrespectful. On the other hand, if the notion is to have a greater understanding and appreciation for the way cultures intersect and inspire several aspects of the greater world around us, then that is a step the right direction.
There are several ways to go about this. I believe organizations and commissioners should take the time to commission composers of that respective culture to write that music and not harp solely on composer prestige. Another course of action is to consult people and personnel who are of that culture. They will be able to inform you of idiosyncrasies and texts that are deemed sacred or for a special purpose so those elements can be respectfully avoided. Also, taking the time to listen to those of the culture and give them the center stage. They have been used to being tucked away and disregarded so being open and giving them full space to be, and educate, is essential. They give insight into and provide a full understanding of the many moving parts that make that music unique. They can inform you of essential performance practices and execution of these elements. Several of those parts should be incorporated in the music you are creating and/or performing. The goal is to elevate and to be good cultural advocates for the cultures being represented.
I think of these opportunities as a form of collaboration and preservation. In my work Pepperpot I had each movement dedicated to a person’s cultural heritage. What that meant was I asked each pianist to present a collection of songs from their culture that they grew up listening to. It ranged from folk to popular music. So, the first movement was based on the first pianist’s Czech heritage, the second movement was based on the second pianist’s Puerto Rican heritage, the third movement was based on my Jamaican heritage and the fourth movement mixed all of them together with a Texan flare as we all met in Texas. Then each pianist, having learned the piece, was asked to give their own movement a title based on what they heard.
This kind of collaboration allows me to be removed as the sole proprietor of the process. My goal is to acknowledge how majestic these cultures are and how within each culture I was able to find several elements that were similar. I believe because of historical events such as trade, and catastrophic events such as war and slavery, there were bound to be many forms of cultural cross pollination in this regard. I used that to create a unifying factor between cultures amid the differences.
Overall, we must ensure that the music of other cultures is presented in a way that brings out the beauty and richness of these cultures. They should not feel stereotyped or pigeonholed. Also, this allows the people from the culture to talk about what is being presented and how good their culture is. Too often many personnel from these cultures feel cheated as they must use their voice instead to debunk misinformation.
In your artistic statement you write, “As a pianist and composer, I seek to create a conduit that allows classical concert music to be more inviting to a public who believes this music is not meant for them.” Can you tell me more about how you do this through your performances and compositions?
As a performer I basically curate my programs in a way that showcases the breath of musical ideas and stories. For example, my current program focuses on women composers, and I not only represent their station across the world (i.e. Germany, France, USA, Jamaica, England), but how styles between composers are similar but presented through the lens of their experience. For example: Clara Schuman and Florence Price embrace the music of the romantic era. Clara presents through the German experience and Florence Price presents through the African American spiritual experience. Margaret Bonds and Lili Boulanger embrace the impressionist era, Boulanger presents the French perspective, but Bonds also infuses the African American spiritual and music influences with it. My program is about the highly inspired minds of these women and how they created works that were evocative, virtuosic, and visceral. Also, they are pieces I just love to play and truly are deserving of an audience. In doing so, people can see themselves represented consistently with no trope attached. They will be able to focus on the music and not question the optics of the programing.
As a composer, I think I am basically adding to this nationalism idea. Indeed, that concept is nothing new to classical music, however, the ideas, narratives, and idiosyncrasies go beyond the Eurocentric border and centers those of Africa and the Diaspora. Many have come to love classical music and their respective composers because each composer’s nationality has a representative they can boast about. For example: Debussy, Ravel and Lili Boulanger- the face of France, Chopin and Grazyna Bacewicz- the face of Poland, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky-the face of Russia, Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven- the face of Germany etc.
But a Jamaican for example would not be able to relate to these works as readily because by default, the work’s narrative and essence are not created in a language they understand. Phonetically and rhythmically the work is foreign and even more importantly the creator themselves does not look like them. So, by creating works that speak their native tongue and have familiar narratives that they have grown up with and love, the rhythmic evocations that emerge are familiar and they will begin to engage with these pieces very differently. This familiarity and bridging the gap provides an open dialogue that enables them to authentically engage with the music of Europe because they too have something for themselves.
Why do you feel that segments of the population don’t believe classical music is for them, and what can all of us do to break down these barriers?
If you look at the concert season for the next ten years of any major organization, most of their programming contain works by predominantly white male composers. What that says to the people of color, indigenous, or woman audiences/communities is you are not welcome, or, you are welcome, but this is a space for white males to be celebrated and lauded for their contributions to music.
Then there are other organizations who have been doing the work in programming works by women, people of colour, indigenous groups, queer groups and have done this consistently, and it is reflected in the audiences that show up. Just as how these organizations led with intention, the respective audiences responded with equal intention. This manifests in organic support in not only concert attendance but in resources.
This is evidenced in 2020 when many historic concert organizations were struggling to stay afloat during the unprecedented reckoning because for 50+ years they never thought it would be wise to serve the full gamut of the community that was around them. But they did expect said community to dig into their pockets to support a cause that they were not even a part of to begin with. On the other hand, the smaller companies that were doing the work long before the pandemic, were thriving during these difficult times. This is because their programing was indicative of the community they served. They were commissioning and programing music of women, black, indigenous, and other minority composers in addition to the famous repertoire, and it was done in a way that was organic and exemplary of true equality and celebration of music. So, when it came to needing assistance from the community, the community without fail supported in droves because their work was a consistent message of a space that was created for all to enjoy the arts and to engage with such.
So how to help break these barriers? Pay attention to the way your community concert organizations operate. We as an audience are stockholders of these organizations and should hold them accountable when they are not serving the community on a holistic level. Support organizations and pour into those that genuinely support the community through their programming, commissioning, and provision of concert access to marginalized groups.
What advice can you offer to young musicians who are seeking to create a career for themselves as composers and pianists?
Understand that no one’s path is the same, and there is no standard timetable as to when things should be accomplished. Unfortunately, the classical contemporary music world is getting a little better but still participates in an age-discriminatory prose. So be clear about what you want for your career and be open to several avenues to get there. Trust your own process, and do not be set on just one thing or one way. Also, ask people to mentor and support you, and to help make that dream a reality. No one can do it on their own.
The people who you interact with while studying at school are your immediate music and career building community. Collaborate with them, get to know them. They are the ones who will make or break your careers based on their experience with you. So, be gracious, and always be professional regardless of the assignment. You too contribute to this symbiosis, so ensure that you are also discerning of the same in others.
As a performer, play your composer colleagues’ music. Give them the best recording possible. When working in collaborative and solo recitals, even in the church and bar lounge jobs, provide your top tier musicianship. You’ll never know who is listening. Your passion in these regards will make people want to work with you again. At best, their experience with you may just put your name in spaces unbeknownst to you years later.
Do not work for free. Get in the habit of taking opportunities that are willing to treat you like a working musician. Surely, there will be exceptions from time to time, but be proactive in working like a professional and require such in compensation.
Perform music you are excited about. Do not worry about the canon if you can help it. Instead, curate concert programs that are indicative of your passions and of pieces that truly excite you.
Do not wait for the concert hall invitation to perform. Create a series of performances at churches, community centers, nursing homes etc. Reach out to the churches that offer a concert series and pitch your program. Have sample programs streamed online. Be proactive about your career. The goal is getting people to know you and your artistry, and developing a growing audience is the primary root for a thriving career.
As a composer, write music that YOU want to hear. Don’t be clever for the sake of being clever. Instead, make sure your musical goals more than anything else translate to the audience. I feel if you are excited about what you are writing, the audience will be too. Always engage with the greater world around you. It will give you much inspiration.
Ensure your scores and/or mediums of presenting your music are immaculate. First impression matters. You must present as a professional even if you feel like an amateur. Learn proper engraving techniques and media presentation so the focus is on you, the artist, and your work.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to ensembles and ask about commissioning. You will be surprised as there are many musicians who are looking for new music and fresh talent but do not know where to look. So, go to them. Send that email, send that social media message. Again, be professional.
Do not be afraid of rejection. It will sting, yes, but in the same way you are not interested in every type of music or thing, some may not find your music to be a proper fit. That is ok. Keep going! Embrace the feedback and let it contribute to your resilience.
Although I am not a fan of competitions, still apply to calls-for-scores and composition events that you believe are a good fit. Choose as many opportunities as possible that do not require a fee. Apply to those that ask for a fee only if you absolutely believe in that opportunity. The goal is to get your music out there. Again, if you do not get selected, keep applying! Embrace the feedback and let it contribute to your resilience.
Finally, go to concerts, support your other composer and performer colleagues, meet the artists (the ones on stage and the ones in the audience), introduce yourself. In essence, network. There is always a connection. Many times, it will bring you back to the same colleagues you met during school.
Mikhail Johnson (1989-) born in the rural hills of Maroon Town in the parish of St. James, Jamaica, is one of the country’s most promising pianists and composers. He was winner of the Jamaica Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition for Young Musicians Senior Division in 2009, and in the same year, won the piano section of the Jamaica Music Teachers' Association Music Competition. He has won numerous gold medals and national awards in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Festival of the Performing Arts, and he was also a finalist in the 2017 American Prize Music Competition for Piano (collegiate division). In 2021 he was two-time First Prize winner of the Charleston International Music Competition and the first Jamaican to enter the competition.
Deemed by Spoleto Festival USA as “a composer who invites us to consider and reframe our sonic sensibilities,” Johnson’s compositional style merges traditional European classical musicand the avant-garde with traditional Jamaican cultural idiosyncrasies.
Johnson’s music has been performed by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, The Cantus Ensemble in London, The North/South Consonance Ensemble, The Concordia Ensemble of the University of Notre Dame and The Northwest Sinfonietta. He has also been performed by artists such as Departure Duo, fivebyfive, Verdant Vibes, and Transient Canvas and at events such as the International Clarinet Association Clarinetfest. In 2022 Johnson made his Spoleto Festival USA debut with his composition Evil’s Peak to critical acclaim.
Johnson has received commissions from the University of North Carolina (Greensboro), Bowling Green State University and Texas Tech University, and music organizations such as the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the Cincinnati Song Initiative(CSI), the Brooklyn Art Song Society and Seattle Opera.
He was winner of the 2016 NEOSonicFest Young and Emerging Composers Composition; 2019 Composer-in-Residence at the University of Notre-Dame, South Bend, Indiana; 2020 winner of the Transient Canvas Composition Fellowship; recipient of 2021-2022 National Association of Teachers of Singing NATS Mentorship Program for Composers; the 2022 Alea Publishing & Recording Dolphy Prize; the 2022-2023 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) Composer Residency Fellowship; and composer for the 2022-2023 Seattle Opera Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab for a new chamber opera.
Mikhail has also served as chief adjudicator for several international music competitions in the categories of piano and composition.
Johnson holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from Texas Tech University and a double Masters of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Music Composition from Bowling Green State University.
For more information, visit his website.