alumni profiles
IN TUNE WITH HIMSELF
ALUMNUS CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON FOUND HIS LOVE OF MUSIC IN LOS ANGELES AND HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST AT UAPB; AND IT'S LED TO OPPORTUNITIES OF A LIFETIME by Tisha D. Arnold
The stage was black and the crowd was going wild. When 2009 alumnus Chris Johnson took out one of his earpieces, the roar of 125,000 concert-goers at Coachella 2018 was deafening. Those in attendance at the popular festival were there to witness a performance by Beyoncé, one of the most well-known artists in the world. It was a historic moment for African Americans because she was the first black female artist to headline the event. With more than 475,000 people connected via live stream, the two nights Beyoncé took the stage would prove to be the most watched performance for the event. According to Netflix, 1.1 million viewers watched Homecoming, the documentary that recounted the process it took to plan and execute an homage to African American culture and HBCU excellence. After playing Coachella, Johnson continued working with the artist as part of the Hornets horn section for the worldwide On The Run tour. He was also a co-arranger of the horn section for the album, Everything is Love, that won Best Contemporary Album at the Grammy Awards in 2019. How does one begin as a cellist and quickly find himself performing with noatbley the best in the music industry? The path it took to get there was one that started in an unexpected way. His interest in music began as a young boy playing around on the piano at his grandmother's house in his hometown, Los Angeles, California. Johnson said his mother noticed him playing by ear and figuring out melodies to children’s songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb. A pianist in her own right, his mother was told that Johnson had an ear for music. She enrolled him in the school choir where she taught second grade and eventually the school orchestra. It was in elementary school that he laid his hands on the cello – an instrument he would practice on incessantly and strive to make first chair each time he performed. “We had auditions for first chair every week, and I had to get it,” Johnson said. “If I didn’t get it, I would go home crying. I’ll never forget that.” Seeing his love for the cello, Johnson’s mother took him to see the Los Angeles Philarmonic Orchestra. They sat on the first row right in front of the cello section. Watching them perform, he was inspired by how passionate they were about their craft. After the performance was over, his mother took him backstage to meet the first chair of the cello section. Although he’d only been playing for a short time, the cellist encouraged him to stay with it. It was this experience at nine years old that made Johnson realize what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. “Meeting her [the cellist] and seeing the whole orchestra play and how dope that was to me – I knew that I wanted to play music for a living.” At right: Chris Johnson is photographed with his trombone. Photo provided courtesy of Christopher Johnson
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UAPB Magazine • University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff