Amanda Johnston

Collaborative pianist Amanda Johnston is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi. She enjoys a thriving career as a vocal coach, specializing in comparative diction. She is author of English and German Diction for Singers: A Comparative Approach (Scarecrow Press, 2011). In 2012, she released a compact disc with MSR Classics entitled Mahler: Rückert-Lieder in collaboration with mezzo-soprano Julia Morgan. At the university she is music director of the opera theatre, teaches courses in advanced diction, song literature and collaborative piano, and coaches at the undergraduate and graduate level.

She has presented research at both regional and national conferences held by the College Music Society (CMS), National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), The Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium VIII (Newfoundland), and National Opera Association (NOA). Further, she has given masterclasses in voice and collaborative piano at Queen's University, Royal Conservatory of Music, University of South Dakota, and Harding University. She has held positions at the University of Toronto, Royal Conservatory of Music, York University, Taos Opera Institute (Taos, New Mexico), Druid City Opera Workshop (Tuscaloosa, Alabama), and Lied Austria (Leibnitz).

Since 2004, she has been artistic director of "In Recital", a successful Toronto recital series designed to showcase Canadian singers and cultivate the art song. She has been broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and NPR, and has performed in Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Austria, and Scotland. She was educated at Queen's University, the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" (Weimar, Germany), and the Janáček Academy of Music (Brno, Czech Republic).

Johnston has coached complete productions of Carmen, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, Die Dreigroschenoper, L'elisir d'amore, Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, Rigoletto, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Don Giovanni, Semele and The Gondoliers. Her language proficiency includes English and German (native fluency), French and Italian (high facility), as well as Spanish, Czech, and Russian (phonetic proficiency).

She has received prestigious grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council to work with masters in the field of collaborative piano, most notably Malcolm Martineau, Rudolf Jansen, Martin Isepp, Dalton Baldwin, Elly Ameling, Wolfgang Holzmair, and Helmut Deutsch. Further professional development has included attending the Franz-Schubert-Institut (Baden bei Wien), Académie Francis Poulenc (Tours), Académie internationale d'Été (Nice), Oxenfoord International Summer School (St. Andrews, Scotland), and the Aspen Music Festival.

[ Personal home page: www.amandajohnston.ca ]