Don Johnson (1939-2000)	June 12 00

Don Johnson Don Johnson was born August 7, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois. After a courageous six-month battle with cancer under the care of his family and loving wife, Florence, he passed away peacefully on May 29th, 2000 in Jerrabomberra, New South Wales, Australia. In 1968, 29-year-old Don Johnson arrived in Perth, Western Australia, as principal trumpet of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. He had already accumulated a wealth of experience as a performer and teacher. As a teenager, he toured as a trumpeter and arranger with the bands of Charlie Spivak, Art Mooney, Ray Eberle, and Judy Garland. At age 20, he became the principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He relinquished this position in 1963 to further his education through a scholarship at the Curtis Institute of Music, and later earned a degree in music education from the University of North Carolina, while supporting himself as a music teacher and band director in the Greensboro, North Carolina, school system. In 1978, he was appointed to the Canberra School of Music (Australia) as Lecturer in trumpet. He designed and implemented an excellent curriculum that established Canberra as a center for trumpet study. Don also initiated proposals for the introduction of a department of jazz studies. When this became a reality in 1985, Don became the first director of jazz studies. His lyrical jazz style concentrated on beautiful tone and melodic improvisation rather than demonstrative high-speed, high-altitude manipulation of chord changes. He also served as principal trumpet with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Don resigned from the school of music in 1998 and once again devoted himself to the education of school children, first as Band Director at Radford College and then as a member of the instrumental music department of the Australian Capital Territory department of education and training. He emphasized that performance should be both aesthetically appropriate as well as technically correct. Never an overly aggressive player, he is remembered for the beauty of his tone with the ability to fill an auditorium with the sound of a pianissimo passage. His definitive performance of the Alfred Francis Hill Trumpet Concerto was released by EMI Records (OASD 7556). Don was a modest man who avoided the limelight, yet made a huge and lasting contribution to the performance and teaching of music in Australia. Source: Robert Burne, enthusiastic amateur trumpeter for over 40 years, founding member of the Australian Trumpet Guild, and member of the Hall Village Brass Band and Canberra Community Orchestra

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