Daniel C. Johnson
Daniel
C. Johnson is a music education researcher, teacher-educator, and
multi-instrumentalist. He is a graduate of the University
of Arizona (PhD), the New
England Conservatory (Graduate Diploma), St. Louis
Conservatory (MM), and Emory University (BA). Since 2002, he has taught at the University
of North Carolina Wilmington where he now coordinates the undergraduate and
graduate music education programs. Additional faculty appointments include
positions at: Boston University, the Orff Institut
and Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria (as a Fulbright Scholar), the
National University of Costa Rica (as a Visiting Professor), and Bridgewater
State University (MA).
Named a Medici
Scholar, Dr. Johnson received multiple nominations for the prestigious UNCW
College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Research Award in recognition of his
exemplary scholarship. That research focuses on classroom music instruction, cross-cultural studies,
music listening, and rural music education. In addition, his research and outreach projects are
regularly supported by grants from national and state-level foundations
including: the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Science
Foundation, the College Music Society, the North Carolina Arts Council, the
American Orff-Schulwerk Association, and Partners of the Americas. Past chair of the Research and Higher
Education Committees, Dr. Johnson has served in elected positions on the
executive board of the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the College
Music Society, and the International Society for Music Education (Special
Interest Group on Applied Pedagogies).
Dr.
Johnson’s scholarship includes frequent workshops and conference
presentations throughout the world for organizations including: the National
Association for Music Education (NAfME), the
International Society for Music Education (ISME), the College Music Society
(CMS), the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), the Organization of
American Kodály Educators (OAKE), the Alliance for Active Music-Making (AAMM),
and the International Society for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
(ISSOTL). His research publications have appeared in many eminent journals
including: The Journal for Research in Music Education, The Journal of Music Teacher Education, The Bulletin of the Council for Research
in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, Visions of Research in Music Education, and Contributions
to Music Education. He has also authored book chapters for The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and
Practice in Music Education, Model Cornerstone Assessments for the
National Music Education Standards, Points of Disruption
in the Music Education Curriculum (Vol. I & II), and The Handbook of Listening. He is also the editor of the forthcoming two-volume
publication Music Education in Rural America (Routledge). Other
publications include Musical Explorations: Fundamentals Through
Experience, now in its seventh edition (2021), and his
most recent book, Holistic Musical Thinking (2025).
An
enthusiastic champion of interdisciplinary scholarship, Dr. Johnson has
collaborated with nurse educators and other health care professionals for
nearly a decade. To date, thousands of students have completed his course
“Exploring Music with Health Science Applications” as an
introduction to music therapy. Selected by the Grammy Foundation as a finalist
for the 2016 research award, his interactive approach to music education
features critical and creative music listening as an application of music
psychology. His most recent research on the topic is a book chapter for The Oxford Handbook of Music and Aging (under contract).
As a teacher-educator, Dr. Johnson brings 30
years of teaching experience that spans the PK - university gamut including
general, instrumental, and choral music positions in the public, independent,
and community-based schools of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Arizona,
and North Carolina. An international authority on Orff-Schulwerk and a
Fulbright Scholar at the prestigious Orff Institut
and Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, Dr. Johnson regularly directs
and leads Orff-Schulwerk courses throughout the United States and
internationally. He is also a long-time Fellow of the A+ School Program
of North Carolina, the largest, longest running,
most successful arts-based whole-school reform effort in the United States. In
that role, Dr. Johnson regularly designs and presents meaningful and
impactful professional development workshops for
music and classroom teachers across the country.
Since 2004, “Dr. Dan” has taught
basic pedagogy, recorder, and movement for AOSA levels courses. Hundreds of
music teachers have completed his courses, enriching the musical futures of
thousands of their students. He has also published practitioner articles in
numerous professional journals including the Orff Echo, Musicworks: Journal of the Australian National Council
of Orff Schulwerk, The Teacher Educator, and The Journal of General Music Education.
A multi-instrumentalist, Dr. Johnson has
performed major orchestral works as Principal Tuba with the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra (Myrtle
Beach, SC) since 2007. He has also appeared as a soloist with the
Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and performed nationally and internationally with
the North Carolina School of the Arts Orchestra, the Carolina Philharmonic, New
Hampshire Philharmonic, St. Louis Philharmonic, New Bedford Philharmonic, the
Keene (NH) Chamber Orchestra, and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestras. As instructor of Tuba and
Euphonium at UNCW, he has also distinguished himself as a solo and chamber
musician winning a national prize at the Keystone Brass Institute and
performing with The Carolina Brass, a Summit
Recording Artist and national touring ensemble. Founder of the North Carolina
Tuba Consortium, Cape Fear Brass Works, and the UNCW Faculty Brass Quintet, Dr.
Johnson also directs Tuba Christmas Carols, OctubaFest,
and TubaZalea Concerts and is a principal player in the
Wilmington
Virtuosi Brass, a British brass band based in the Port City.
In addition, Dr. Johnson is an accomplished bagpiper,
ranked in the top of all Grade III pipers by the Eastern United States Pipe
Band Association. Having studied the Great Highland Bagpipes and Scottish Smallpipes, he regularly competes throughout the southeast
and mid-Atlantic United States. Having earned many top prizes, he was the
three-time overall winner at highland games competitions – Piper of the
Day. He has performed with St. Andrews University Pipe Band and the Port City
Pipes and Drums for a variety of civic events and ceremonies. In recognition of
his achievements, he has received multiple scholarships from Scottish Heritage
USA and the Scottish Cultural Organization of the Triangle.
Contact
Information:
Daniel C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor of Music and Music Education
Undergraduate and Graduate Music Education
Coordinator
UNC-Wilmington, Department of Music
601 S. College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403-5975
Phone: (910) 962-7559
Fax: (910) 962-7106
Email: johnsond@uncw.edu