Or, click here to download/view a PDF of my online résumé.

Click here for a brief bio (suitable for programs, introductions, etc.).

 

 

Quoteables:

“[T]he podium was shared by . . . highly competent assistant conductors, Mary Chapman and Orin Johnson. . . . ‘The Three Kings,’ by the Canadian Healey Willan, filled with rapturous harmonies and beautifully sung. . . . Morten Lauridsen’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ is a transcendent piece of music, and the Chamber Chorus gave it a gorgeous, translucent performance.” — Sarah Bryan Miller, Post-Dispatch Review

 

“Versatility is a necessity for any serious composer, and this current work embodies that point.” — WLP Publications, on “The Lord Is My Shepherd”

 

“The prep was done by assistant conductor Orin Johnson . . . Johnson did a superb job, with only one month to prepare an intensely challenging program.” — Sarah Bryan Miller, Post-Dispatch Review

 

“Adaptable and prayerful, an excellent ritual music selection for your Triduum.” — WLP Publications, on “Gather at the Cross”

 

“The most memorable and effective of these was ‘Odysseus and the Sirens,’ by H. Garrett Phillips (1941-1991), for women’s voices. Broken into small groups and led by assistant conductor Orin Johnson, they began with sounds suggesting the crashing of waves. The only word in the piece (‘Odysseus’) grew and then faded as the sirens receded, to leave only the sound of the waves. It’s hard to imagine a better performance.” — Sarah Bryan Miller, Post-Dispatch Review

 

“Walk Away Different is an interesting and eclectic mix of contemporary liturgical music and music for youth. Packed with creative arrangements and texts that come from the heart of their own faith journeys, this recording is sure to rouse a surge of spirit in any community.”  — GIA Publications on “Walk Away Different”

 

“’Las estrellas se ríen (The stars are laughing),’ a cheerily inventive piece….was expertly led by assistant conductor Orin Johnson.”  — Sarah Bryan Miller, Post-Dispatch Review

 

“The well-crafted text covers the entire three-year cycle, [and] . . . A beautiful harmonic progression reminds us we are all on a journey . . .” — WLP Publications, on “God of the Covenants”

 

“With the mood appropriately set by the opening selections, the next work was a German-language Psalm 150 setting by Felix Mendelssohn, “Aus Tiefer Not”. Here, Mr. Barnes ceded the rostrum to one of the SLCC’s two associate conductors, Orin Johnson. For listeners familiar with the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, this Mendelssohn work is very much in Bach’s spirit and style, particularly in its opening and closing moments. The work is quite extended, and Mr. Johnson directed the SLCC very well.” — George Yeh, KDHX Review

 

“Dang, you didn’t ask me for a quote? Is it because I use words like ‘dang?'” — Composer and Friend Bob Moore, on Facebook.