Mary Grace Johnson

About Mary Grace

Award-winning violinist Mary Grace Johnson has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe and North America and is the newly-appointed concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony. She has been a prizewinner and finalist at numerous competitions including the Bartok World String Quartet Competition in Budapest, Hungary and MTNA’s National Young Artist Competition and has been featured on NPR's Performance Today.

Johnson is a co-leader and program curator for Kinetic Ensemble, Houston's premiere conductorless string orchestra. Her recordings with Kinetic have been released to critical acclaim on Orchid Classics and Bright Shiny Things. She has appeared as soloist with several orchestras including the Nashville Symphony and the Vanderbilt University Orchestra, and was recently selected to perform for the Duke of Kent in Cornwall, U.K. as part of the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove.

A firm believer in advocacy through music, Johnson aims to center underrepresented voices, especially women, in her recital programming. She has premiered works by over a dozen composers including Anthony Brandt, Amy Nam, Theo Chandler, and Nicky Sohn. In 2023, she co-commissioned and premiered Sohn’s violin concerto, “Home,” with Kinetic Ensemble to a sold-out audience. The work was composed in collaboration with the Women's Home Houston and presented on a program celebrating female expression.

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A devoted educator, Johnson is the Assistant Professor of Violin at West Virginia University. She previously taught at Lone Star College-University Park. During the summers she has taught at the Kneisel Hall Maine Students Program, AFA Summer Music Festival, and Interlochen Arts Camp. A proud Suzuki instructor, she received her Suzuki Training at Vanderbilt University with Carol Smith.

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Johnson completed her studies at Vanderbilt University, the Juilliard School, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Her major instructors include Paul Kantor, Cornelia Heard, Christian Teal, and Laurie Smukler.

I aim to give my students the tools to they need to discover their own voice as musicians. My instruction focuses on asking questions and promoting critical thinking, rather than simply telling students how to play. I believe in being a mentor to my students and my goal is to develop well-rounded individuals as well as excellent violinists.