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Gordon Johnston
Conductor
 Gordon Johnston is the founding conductor of
the Strings of St. John's. Active as a conductor, organist, harpist and composer, he has been Director of Music at the Church of St. John the Evangelist (Elgin Street) since 1986. The choir
of St. John's Church, which he conducts, gives several concerts annually as well as providing music for the weekly services; the choir records and tours frequently. For many years, Gordon was the
associate conductor of the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra, and annually conducts a major choral/orchestral work with the CAMMAC chorus. In 1997 he was invited to participate in
the National Conductors Symposium, working under maestro Jon Washburn, rehearsing and conducting the Vancouver Chamber Choir in performance.
Gordon began his musical studies at the age of six in his
native Calgary, Alberta. At the age of 13 he began organ study with Arthur Ward (Mount Royal College), and later studied with John Searchfield at the University of Calgary.
He holds bachelors and masters degrees in music from Brigham Young University (USA) where he studied conducting with the eminent American conductor Ralph Woodward. In 2003 he earned the degree of Doctor of
Sacred Music summa cum laude from the Graduate Theological Foundation. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian
College of Organists, he has been a member of the College's Examinations Committee for over ten years, setting
professional-level examinations for organists across the country and serving as adjudicator for the annual exams.
 In 1994 he was commissioned by Novalis, the Canadian publishing arm of the Roman Catholic Church, to compose a complete cycle of psalms to be sung in weekly masses. His psalms are published in "
Living With Christ" (Novalis) and also by the Anglican Church of Canada in a collection entitled "Psalms for the Revised Common Lectionary" (Anglican Book Centre, 1999). When not
making music, Gordon's hobbies include watching television shows (happy endings only), and surfing the web looking for interesting music for string orchestra.
You can contact Gordon by e-mail.
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