Ken Johnston, violin, gave a recent recital at Cleveland State University, and we featured it on this episode of Cleveland Ovations. John Simna hosted the program, and spoke with Mr. Johnston at intermission of the program.
Program
Alfred Schnittke: Suite in the Old Style (with Natsumi Shibagaki, piano)
Johan Sebastian Bach: Ciacdona from the Partita No. 2 in d for Solo Violin, B. W. V. 1004
Johannes Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G, Op. 78 (with Natsumi Shibagaki, piano)
Antonio Bazzini: La Ronde des Lutins (with Charles Hernandez, piano)
Ken Johnston is active both as a performer and a teacher of the violin. In addition to his performing as Concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic, he holds the same chair with the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra of Cleveland. He has played with the Akron, Canton, Youngstown, and Cleveland Pops Orchestras of Ohio, as well as the Virginia Symphony and the Wheeling Symphony of West Virginia. Donald Rosenberg of The Plain Dealer remarked that Johnston “triumphed whenever he touched bow to strings.”
He has taught violin students at Ohio State University, and has served on the faculty of Mercyhurst College, where he taught both violin and viola to undergraduate music students and conducted ensemble performances such as Mozart’s Opera, The Magic Flute. In addition, he has been a faculty member of the Luzerne Chamber Music Festival, where he performed as a member of the Luzerne Chamber Players.
A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received both a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Violin Performance, Johnston studied with Professor David Updegraff and served as Mr. Updegraff's Teaching Assistant.