Daniel Johnson

Daniel Johnson is Professor of Music and Music Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, the University of Arizona, the St. Louis Conservatory, and Emory University, he has taught at UNCW since 2003 where he has established numerous teacher-education and community outreach programs to benefit music teachers throughout the Cape Fear region and beyond.

Education

Ph.D. in Music Education, University of Arizona
Graduate Diploma in Music, New England Conservatory of Music
M.M. in Tuba Performance, St. Louis Conservatory
B.A. in Music and Chemistry, Emory University

Specialization in Teaching

Dr. Johnson’s main teaching specialization is music teacher-education. As an international authority on the Orff-Schulwerk pedagogy, he has studied and taught at the international Orff-Institut, as part of the Universität Mozarteum, in Salzburg, Austria. He regularly presents teacher-education courses and workshops across the country and abroad. Certified in every teacher-educator level, he has taught professional development courses in basic pedagogy, recorder, and movement for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) since 2004.

As a multi-instrumentalist, Dr. Johnson’s teaching specialization also includes tuba and euphonium. On those instruments, he has distinguished himself as an orchestral, solo, and chamber musician by performing major orchestral works as principal tubist with the Long Bay Symphony (Myrtle Beach, SC) since 2003. Dr. Johnson has performed as a soloist with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and has also performed internationally and throughout the United States 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. A national prize-winner at the Keystone Brass Institute, he has appeared with The Carolina Brass, a Summit Recording Artist and national touring ensemble.

Research Interests

Dr. Johnson’s research interests include classroom music instruction, teachers' professional development, rural music teaching, interdisciplinary education, and music-supported health and wellness. His scholarship includes multiple research journal publications with articles appearing in: The Journal of Research in Music Education, The Journal of Music Teacher Education, the Bulletin of the Council of Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, the Orff Echo, Musicworks: Journal of the Australian National Council of Orff Schulwerk, The Teacher Educator, The Journal of General Music Education, Qualitative Research in Music Education.
His book publications include: Holistic Musical Thinking: A Pedagogical Model for Hands-On and Heart-felt Musical Engagement, Music Education in Rural America: Volume I, Policies and Perspectives, and Volume II: A Teacher Guidebook, Musical Explorations: Fundamentals Through Experience, and Lessons Learned: A Dozen Lessons for Orff Process and Improvisation. In addition, his book chapters appear in: The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, Model Cornerstone Assessments for the National Music Education Standards, The Oxford Handbook of Music and Aging, Points of Disruption in the Music Education Curriculum, Volume 1, Systemic Changes and Volume II: Individual Changes, and The Handbook of Listening.

Professional Service

Dr. Johnson is a frequent presenter at international, national, regional, and statewide conferences for professional organizations including: the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), the International Society for Assessment in Music Education (ISAME), 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), the International Society for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL), the Gerontological Society of America, the Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education (ANZARME), and the North Carolina Music Teachers Association (NCMEA).

Dr. Johnon has also served as Visiting Professor at the Universität Mozarteum / Orff Institut (Salzburg, Austria), and at the National University of Costa Rica (Heredia, Costa Rica). His other service to the profession includes part-time faculty appointments and consulting roles with: Boston University, the University of Maine, Bridgewater State University (MA), The Florida State University, Lee University (TN), the University of Mary (ND), A+ Schools of North Carolina, and the Southeastern Center for Arts Integration (SECAI).

Community Engagement

Since 2003, Dr. Johnson has led professional development courses for music teachers throughout the Cape Fear region and beyond. Having worked closely with teachers and administrators in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick, Onslow, Duplin, Bladen, and Columbus Counties, he has advanced the quality and enthusiasm for classroom and instrumental music teaching through annual outreach events such as Orff-Schulwerk courses and workshops, literacy-based professional education, along with OctubaFest and Tuba Christmas concerts. As a principal member of the Wilmington Virtuosi Brass and leader of the Cape Fear Brass Works, he also performs in recitals, concerts, and other annual events for area civic organizations, churches, and veteran’s groups.

Honors & Awards

Dr. Johnson is a Fulbright Scholar, having taught and conducted research at the Universität Mozarteum / Orff Institut (Salzburg, Austria). Also recognized as a Medici Scholar, he has lectured at Cambridge University (UK) and the Ludwig Maximilian Universität (Munich, Germany). He was also an invited presenter for the Czech Orff Society (Prague, Czech Republic), Changsha Normal College (Hunan Province, China), the Costa Rican Forum of Music Education - FOCODEM (San José, Costa Rica), Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (La Paz, Bolivia), and numerous other schools and teacher organization in Austria, Costa Rica, and Bolivia. To support music teachers and their professional development, Dr. Johnson has received numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Partners of the Americas, the Country Music Association, the College Music Society, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), and the North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA).