Mary Grace Johnson

Violinist Mary Grace Johnson has appeared internationally at venues from Liszt Academy’s Solti Hall in Budapest to London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. A decorated performer, she made her solo debut at age 17 with the Nashville Symphony and won first prize at the National MTNA Young Artist String competition in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School where she received her Master of Music degree.

A former DACAMERA of Houston Young Artist, Ms. Johnson frequently performs with Houston collective ensembles Kinetic Ensemble, Loop38 and MUSIQA. She has performed with the Nashville Symphony, Gateway Chamber Orchestra, and Princeton Symphony Orchestra and as concertmaster of the El Paso Symphony, Juilliard Orchestra and the Rice University Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, she has appeared with Kinetic Ensemble and the Vanderbilt Orchestra, and recently performed for the Duke of Kent in Cornwall, UK as part of the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove.  

As a chamber musician, Ms. Johnson has collaborated with the Argus Quartet, Sarah Rothenberg, Kirsten Doctor, Ko Iwasaki, Scott Yoo, and Stefan Hersch, among others, and was a founding member of the Aurelius and Unison String Quartets. Her chamber music honors include finalist and honorary mention at the Bartok World String Quartet Competition in Budapest, quarterfinalist of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and 2nd prize at the National MTNA Chamber Music Competition in San Antonio, Texas. Ms. Johnson served on the faculty of the American Festival of the Arts Chamber Music Academy in Houston and has worked with the chamber music programs at Rice University, Vanderbilt Blair Pre-College, and the Juilliard School.

Ms. Johnson is the Assistant Professor of Violin at West Virginia University. She previously taught at the Paganini School of Music and Lone Star College-University Park. Her students have successfully auditioned for pre-college programs, scholarships, and area and region orchestras, and her growing reputation has led to students traveling several hours to be part of her studio. A proud Suzuki instructor, she received her Suzuki Training at Vanderbilt University with Carol Smith. During the summers, she has taught at the AFA Summer Music Festival and Interlochen Arts Academy.

Ms. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, where she was awarded the Founder’s Medal for the Blair School of Music, the highest honor in her graduating class. In addition to the violin, she studied viola with Kathryn Plummer and baroque violin with Allison Nyquist. She is currently completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree (ABD) at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Her primary instructors include Paul Kantor, Cornelia Heard, Christian Teal, and Laurie Smukler.