Carter Johnson

29
Birthplace: Campbell River, Canada
Studied in: Vancouver, Canada; and New York City and New Haven, United States
Resides in: New Haven, United States

There wasn’t a strong musical tradition in the family when Carter Johnson (KAR-ter JON-sən) grew up in Campbell River, a small town onVancouver Island. But with encouragement from his grandmother, his parents enrolled him in piano lessons when he was five and Carter fell in love with making music. By age seven, he knew he wanted to be a concert pianist.

Carter ventured to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver for his undergrad, giving him the opportunity to live with his dairy-farming extended family, and then migrated to The Juilliard School for a master’s (music) and Yale for an additional master’s (musical arts) and doctorate (musical arts).

Carter currently lives in Connecticut with his wife, Hannah, and their sons, Preston and Ambrose. In the past few years, he’s participated in a number of international competitions, built an active concert career, and enjoys teaching.

“I often catch myself not practicing in the way I tell my students to,” he says, “and then I get to benefit from my own advice!”

In dealing with the stress of a competition, he tries to “think only when necessary, and redirect this energy into delighting in the music.” He also keeps himself as busy as possible on the day of a performance, particularly with practice and score study, and tries to “spin every negative thought into a positive one.” In live performance, he loves the risk, the vulnerability, and the direct line of communication he creates with an audience.

One of his favourite pieces of advice as a musician? “Enjoy every note.”