Our board
Fulfilling the vision of a youth orchestra for Montana
Gordon J. Johnson
Vice President, Artistic Director, & Resident ConductorIn addition to his 35-year tenure as conductor of the Great Falls Symphony, Johnson was conductor of the Great Falls Youth Orchestra, where he was directly involved in training future generations of orchestral musicians. Johnson served as the music director of the Glacier Symphony (MT) from 1982 to 1997 and later of the Mesa Symphony (AZ) from 1997 to 2005. He served as the director of orchestras at the Red Lodge Music Festival (MT) from 2006 to 2011.
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gordonjjohnson.comJohnson has been recognized for his contribution to the musical arts by the League of American Orchestras. the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and the Carnegie Hall Foundation. The State of Minnesota conferred a special commendation to Johnson, recognizing his contributions on behalf of its citizens. Johnson was honored with the Governor’s Award for the Arts by Montana Governor Steve Bullock at a ceremony at the State Capitol in Helena in 2016.
During his many years of concertizing, Johnson has served as an accompanist to many superb musicians, including world-renowned artists, Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Sir James Galway, Evelyn Glennie, and Joshua Bell. Maestro Johnson has been invited to serve on adjudication panels at Arizona State University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Montana, the University of Oregon, Northwestern University, and the Conservatoire Cesar Geoffray, Toulon, France. Johnson is the past president of the Conductors Guild International, an organization dedicated exclusively to the advancement of the art of conducting and to the artistic and professional needs of conductors.