Mary Grace Johnson - Violin

Violinist Mary Grace Johnson has appeared internationally at venues such as Lincoln Center, Solti Hall, and Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. A decorated performer, she made her solo debut at age 17 with the Nashville Symphony. Ms. Johnson is a founding member of the Unison Quartet, finalists and honorary mention at the 2021 Bartok World String Quartet Competition in Budapest. She frequently performs with Houston-based collectives Kinetic Ensemble, Loop38 and MUSIQA, and aims to promote the music of underrepresented composers, especially female composers, through her recital programming.  

Dedicated to music education and outreach, Ms. Johnson served as a Juilliard Morse Teaching Fellow in Manhattan, taught on the faculty at the W.O. Smith Community Music School in Nashville and coached chamber music at Vanderbilt's Blair Academy and the Kneisel Hall Maine Students Program. A Suzuki trained instructor, her students have successfully auditioned for all-regional orchestras and pre-college programs. Ms. Johnson currently teaches at the American Festival for the Arts Chamber Music Academy and maintains a private studio in Houston.

Ms. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, where she was awarded the Founder’s Medal for the Blair School of Music, the highest honor in her graduating class, and received her master’s degree from the Juilliard School where she served as concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. In addition to the violin, she has studied the viola and baroque violin. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Paul Kantor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.