Our Director

A Dekalb County native, Dr. Johnson’s aptitude for music was first discovered as a 7th grader at Wadsworth Elementary School, where he would often stay hours after school to teach himself piano by ear. When the school music teacher realized he was playing Beethoven sonatas, she recommended that he apply to the DeKalb Center for Performing Arts (now the DeKalb School of Arts). Within two years, he was the first-place prize winner in the Greater Atlanta Music Alliance Bach Competition. Soon after, he relocated to Atlanta where he studied at the North Atlanta School for Performing Arts.  As a student, he represented North Atlanta in many GMEA (Georgia Music Educators Association) auditions and performances where he consistently received high rankings. He spent several summers studying with pianists Drs. Barbara Lister-Sink and Lita Guerra, as well as performing at the prestigious Brevard Music Center Summer Institute & Festival. After four years of formal piano study, he was awarded a full Presidential music scholarship to attend Morehouse College. At Morehouse, he studied piano with Dr. Jefferson Ethridge and performed with the Morehouse College Glee Club, Morehouse Jazz Band, and the Morehouse-Spelman String Quartet. He also participated in masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Awadagin Pratt and Andre Watts and was a multi-prize winner in the James A. Heffner Piano Competition. A continuous learner and serious student of the piano, Dr. Johnson currently studies with internationally acclaimed concert pianist Julie Coucheron.  

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, Dr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music (Piano Performance), a Master of Arts in Musicology (Washington University, St. Louis), a Master of Arts Teaching in Elementary Education (National Louis University-Chicago), and a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (Michigan State University). He also holds the Certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University and the Urban Education Graduate Certificate from Michigan State University. He is a member of several professional organizations including the Music Teachers National Association, Georgia Music Teachers Association, Decatur Music Teacher Association and the National Federation of Music Clubs.  

In his spare time, Dr. Johnson enjoys supporting the arts, spending time with his wife and kids, and engaging in community service with his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.