University of Missouri-Kansas city

About

Celeste Johnson is Professor of Oboe at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory, where she is known for her dynamic career as a performer, educator, clinician, and presenter. Accomplished as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral performer, and teacher, she blends an active performing schedule with a deep commitment to mentoring the next generation of oboists and musicians.

Professor Johnson performs regularly across the United States and internationally. She appears frequently as a substitute with the Kansas City Symphony and as an artist with Summerfest, a chamber music series based in Kansas City. For eleven seasons, she was a member of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, where she was twice featured as a concerto soloist. Her international performances span Japan, Colombia, Switzerland, the Isle of Man, Canada, and numerous venues across the United States.

As a recording artist, Johnson has released two albums on the Equilibrium label. Her most recent release, Wider Than the Sky (2022), highlights works by women composers. Her 2019 album, KaleidosCoping, features contemporary works for flute, oboe, and piano. Additionally, she performs English horn on Jurriaan Andriessen: Music for Oboe & Winds, a recording by oboist Andreas Oeste.

Her orchestral experience includes performances as principal oboe and section member with esteemed ensembles such as the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Russian String Orchestra, Sarasota Opera, Tulsa Opera Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Binghamton Philharmonic, and the Quad Cities Symphony.

Johnson has received fellowships from some of the world’s most prestigious music festivals and institutions. These include the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, and Lucerne Festival Academy. She has also performed at the Sarasota Music Festival, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, and Banff Centre masterclasses. She is a two-time prizewinner of the Gillet/Fox International Oboe Competition, and was also a prize-winner at the Barbirolli International Oboe Competition and the University of Illinois Concerto Competition.

A dedicated advocate for the double reed community, Professor Johnson maintains active memberships in professional organizations. She has presented at the International Double Reed Society (IDRS) and the Midwest Double Reed Society, and served for four years as chair of the IDRS Norma Hooks Young Artist Competition. She is also a frequent presenter at the Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma Music Educators Association conferences, where she shares her expertise on double reed fundamentals and pedagogy for K–12 educators and performers.

Professor Johnson is a sought-after clinician, regularly offering masterclasses, private lessons, and ensemble coachings at festivals, universities, and camps throughout the United States. She co-hosts the UMKC Double Reed Institute each summer, serving middle and high school students. Her teaching affiliations also include the Bay View Music Festival and the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia. Before joining UMKC in 2016, she served on the faculty at Oklahoma State University.

She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her principal teachers include Richard Killmer, Nancy Ambrose King, Dan Stolper, and Phil Koch.