Ralph M Johnson

Ralph M. Johnson is a composer and church musician living and working in the Twin Cities. He began composing music at an early age under the guidance of Ronald A. Nelson, and went on to study at St. Olaf College with Arthur Campbell, and at the University of Minnesota with Paul Fetler and Dominick Argento.

Ralph's original compositions and choral arrangements have been widely performed, and include recent commissions and performances by the St. Olaf Choir, Magnum Chorum, Minnesota Boychoir, the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy of the Oregon Bach Festival, and Nautilus Music-Theater of St. Paul. His music is published by Augsburg Fortress, Choristers Guild, Earthsongs, Hinshaw Music and Neil A. Kjos Music Company.

Along with his work in composition, Ralph currently serves as director of worship and music at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has been named Composer-in-Residence for the 2013 session of Lutheran Summer Music, a month-long music camp for high school students held at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Recent Works:
"Night Watch: Medicine Songs" for solo soprano, mixed chorus and marimba. Text by Owl Woman, translated by Frances Densmore. Commissioned by Magnum Chorum. Premiered February 2013.
"Open the Doors! (A Song of Promise and Hope)" for mixed chorus and piano. Text by David Bengtson. Commissioned by the Minnesota Boychoir. To be premiered 2013.
"Crossings..." for vocal quartet, mixed chorus, clarinet and keyboard. Text by Bill Corbett. Commissioned by Nautilus Music-Theater for the 5th anniversary commemoration of the 35W bridge collapse. Premiered August 2013.
"On Horizon’s Brim" for mixed chorus and chamber ensemble. Text by A. Malcolm Gimse. Commissioned for the 100th anniversary of the St. Olaf Choir, Northfield, MN. Premiered February 2012.
"This House of Peace" for soprano and optional tenor solo, mixed chorus, oboe and strings. Commissioned by PeaceHealth for the grand opening of Sacred Heart Medical Center, Springfield, OR. Premiered by Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy at the Oregon Bach Festival, Eugene, OR, July 2008. Published by Earthsongs, Corvallis, OR.

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