graeme Steele Johnson

Praised as “technically and interpretively impeccable and passionately communicative” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Graeme Steele Johnson is an artist of uncommon imagination and versatility.

The clarinetist, curator and “musical detective” (New York Classical Review) garnered international attention for his rediscovery and reconstruction of a 125-year-old Octet by Charles Martin Loeffler, profiled in a full-page spread by The Washington Post. Released on his debut album Forgotten Sounds, Johnson’s world-premiere recording of the work was named one of The New York Times’ Best Classical Music Albums of 2024, nominated for a Gramophone Classical Music Award, and awarded BBC Music Magazine’s Chamber Choice. As Artistic Director of the Loeffler Octet touring ensemble, Johnson led the work's first present-day performances at the Library of Congress, Morgan Library, Harvard Musical Association, Phoenix Chamber Music Festival, Emerald City Music, Chamber Music Northwest and more.

Widely in demand as a chamber musician, Johnson has also performed at Ravinia and the Bridgehampton, Rockport, Moab, Cooperstown and Orcas Island Chamber Music Festivals, and collaborated with the Miró, Balourdet, Aeolus, Callisto and KASA Quartets and the Copland House, Twelfth Night and New York New Music Ensembles. Johnson has appeared as soloist with the San Diego Symphony, Vienna International Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Caroga Arts Ensemble, Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra and the CME Chamber Orchestra. Upcoming highlights include performances at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest and a solo recital at the Muse Salentine Festival in Italy. Since 2022 he has served as the clarinetist of the award-winning quintet WindSync, “a major force in the American chamber music landscape” (Arts and Culture Texas).

Admired for his creative curation and engaging communication, Johnson has presented a TEDx talk comparing Mozart and Seinfeld, authored chamber arrangements heard around the world, and serves as Artistic Director of the Onstage Offstage Chamber Music Festival in Houston. He earned degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, Yale School of Music and a doctorate from the CUNY Graduate Center, where his research won the Elebash Dissertation Award. His principal teachers include David Shifrin, Charles Neidich, Nathan Williams and Ricardo Morales.