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Jeri Lynne Johnson

Jeri Lynne Johnson is an internationally recognized African American female conductor. As the founder and artistic director of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, she is committed to diversity, equality and excellence.

Childhood

Jeri Lynne Johnson started piano lessons at the age of 4. After attending a performance of a Beethoven Symphony when she was 7 years old, she fell in love with orchestral literature. Ever since, she wanted to create large-scale music beyond the piano, and her dream to become a conductor was born.

Education

As a teenager, the volatile nature of her dad's job caused Jeri Lynne Johnson's family to move all around the country. She attended two high schools and graduated her senior year in Scottsdale, Arizona. Although she did not have a formal music education in school, her outside piano teachers were extremely influential in her musical journey. She then went on to study at Wellesley College in 1993 where she received a bachelor's degree in music and religion. At this all female school, she was inspired by many influential women graduates, including Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright. She learned conducting skills there, but was also fascinated with the spiritual ideals of other cultures from around the world. She later received a master's degree in music history and music theory from the University of Chicago.

Early Accomplishments

Jeri Lynne Johnson attended the Aspen Music Festival in 1998 after winning the Jorge Mester Conducting Scholarship. She was the assistant conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia from 2000-2004. In 2005, she acquired the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship, making her the first African American female to win an international award for conducting. Following these achievements, Jeri Lynne Johnson had the opportunity to conduct orchestras from around the world, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Colorado Symphony, the Bournemouth Symphony, and the Weimar Staatskapelle. She also presented her iConduct project to increase public interaction with professional orchestras. She was heavily influenced by her mentors of Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, and Daniel Barenboim.

Career

Jeri Lynne Johnson is the orchestra conductor of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, established in 2008. The ensemble is extremely diverse as a model for the 21st century, with trained classical musicians and staff members of various genders, races, religions and ethnicities. Her collaborations with the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Barnes Foundation, and Opera Philadelphia have allowed younger and more culturally diversified audiences to appreciate classical music through her devotion to audience engagement in performances. As the founder and artistic director, she has administrative duties of fundraising, meeting with donors and marketing, in addition to leading all of the rehearsals and concerts. Her commitment to community engagement and the prestigious nature of her performances allowed her orchestra to become the only organization in the United States to earn three grants from Knight Foundation Arts Challenge, as well as receive a plethora of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

She is also the cover conductor for the Delaware Symphony Orchestra.

Style

Her musical tastes are diversified and include a wide-range of genres. In addition to performing the works of classical composers, such as winners of the MacArthur Fellowship, she has collaborated with many pop artists, including Jay Z, Alicia Keys and The Roots.

Recognition

Jeri Lynne Johnson has been featured in a myriad of newspapers, magazines, radio shows and television broadcasts. She has earned a 2009 Leeway Transformation Award, a 2010 Honoree in Arts and Culture for The Power Shift and a 2010 British American Project Fellow. Johnson was also named a 2010 Philly 360 Creative Ambassador by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation, a 2010 British American Project Fellow and a 2011 Woman of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal. She was honored for her accomplishments on 20/20, the “Tavis Smiley Show” on NPR and on the NBC Today Show alongside Marin Alsop and Joann Falletta.

Composition

In addition to conducting, Jeri Lynne Johnson is also an accomplished composer of creative, multimedia works. She had the opportunity to perform her own commissions for the See Hear! concert series at Kimmel Center and the computer visual music ensemble of Arts in Motion.