Outstanding Alumni - 2009
Gordon Johnson
Bemidji State University Graduate 1971
Mr. Gordon Johnson earned a bachelors degree in Music from Bemidji State College in 1971 and completed his master's degree at Northwestern University in Illinois in 1976. He is ABD on his Doctor of Music degree from the University of Oregon, where he was twice awarded the prestigious Ruth Lorraine Close Award for doctoral studies. Mr. Johnson has studied with Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, Herbert Blomstedt and Michael Tilson Thomas. He served as Music Director and Conductor of the Glacier Orchestra and Chorale in Montana from 1982-1997, then in the same position for the Mesa, Arizona Symphony from 1997-2005. He currently serves as the Music Director and Conductor of the Great Falls Symphony and also keeps a busy guest conducting schedule. It has included numerous appearances in the U.S. as well as internationally with the Kumamoto Symphony in Japan, the L'Orchestra Nationale de Musique in Toulon, France, the Guam Symphony and the Wilmslow and Blackburn Symphonies in England. In addition to his conducting responsibilities, Mr. Johnson also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Great Falls and the University of Montana, Northern. He has been publicly recognized for his work, earning him an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, an award for Adventuresome Programming from the Glacier Orchestra and was inducted into his Highland Park High School hall of fame in St. Paul. His orchestral performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" program and Public Broadcasting System's "Montana Summer Symphony". Mr. Johnson also serves as a host for "SHOWCASE, a Great Falls Symphony Digest" on Montana Public Radio. He is very involved in community organizations and programs serving on numerous boards and committees. Mr. Johnson and his wife, Ruth, have two sons, Max and Alex. They make their home in Great Falls, Montana.