M. Zachary Johnson’s music has been described as “the first serious Romantic music to be produced by a composer who is part, not of the 19th-century past, but of the 21st-century future.” According to About.com classical guide Aaron Green, “If this is the direction classical music is heading, well, I’d say the future will be full of wonderful music.”
Johnson has enjoyed a longstanding collaboration with saxophonist Brian Horner that has resulted in the premieres of more than ten new works for saxophone. Their concerts have been presented at such venues as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, and New York City’s Mannes College of Music, as well as at the Glimmerglass Opera’s Young Artist recital series.
Joined by pianist Elizabeth Avery, they released
Saxophone Music of M. Zachary Johnson—Live at Steinway Hall in August 2006. Anna Franco wrote in
Music and Vision Daily that “the instruments take on an especially lyrical, singing quality, igniting the rarely-tapped Romantic potential of the saxophone-piano combination which Johnson has mastered.” The
Saxophone Journal hailed the music as “a very valuable addition to the saxophone’s repertoire.”
Johnson has written extensively for both small and large ensembles. He served as Composer in Residence of the 2007 Austin Peay State University Governor’s Honor Band Festival, which included the world premieres of his Scherzo-Concerto for Alto Saxophone & Wind Ensemble, and his Two Military Pieces for Symphonic Band. He is the founder of The MZJ Ensemble, a symphonic group based in New York City which performs his larger compositions.
Johnson earned undergraduate degrees in music from the University of Michigan and a Masters degree from the Mannes College of Music in New York, where he was awarded the Felix Salzer Prize for Excellence in Music Theory. He received additional training at the University of Salzburg in Austria and at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. The recipient of ASCAPlus Awards in 2007 and 2008, he currently teaches in the Preparatory Division of Mannes College the New School for Music.
Works Premiered
Two Wedding Pieces for Soprano Saxophone & Horn
Three Songs for Tenor Voice, Alto Saxophone & Piano (revised)
“Summum Bonum” – “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” – “She Walks in Beauty”
Adagio for Alto Saxophone & Piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall • May 13, 2007
Scherzo-Concerto for Alto Saxophone & Wind Ensemble
Austin Peay State University Governor's Honor Band Festival • February 9, 2007
Composer-in-Residence
Two Military Pieces for Symphonic Band
Austin Peay State University Governor's Honor Band Festival • February 10, 2007
Composer-in-Residence
Grand Sonata for Alto Saxophone & Piano
Quintet for Saxophones & Piano
“Solitude” for Solo Piano
Steinway Hall • May 13, 2006
Two Songs for Tenor Voice, Alto Saxophone and Piano
“The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” – “She Walks in Beauty”
The Glimmerglass Opera • July 23, 2004
Scherzo for Alto Saxophone & Piano
Middle Tennessee State University Saxophone Festival • February 2, 2002
Serenade for Alto Saxophone
Scherzo for Alto Saxophone
The Mannes College of Music • New York City, December 20, 2000
Solution for String Quartet
CAMI Hall • New York City, February 18, 1999
Unconquered for SATB Chorus & Piano
Saline High School • Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 11, 1999
Theme & Variations for Violin and Piano
La Schola Cantorum • Paris, France, July 24, 1998
“The Builders” for SATB Chorus, a capella
La Schola Cantorum • Paris, France, July 11, 1998
