richard johnson,
composer and multimedia artist


video art



IMAGE: Installation of Timothy Roy's "Southern Specter" at
Los angeles Arboretum's Digital Nature 2019



collaborations with composers



IMAGE: Premiere of Timothy Roy's "Southern Specter" performed by Loop38



Timothy Roy:
Southern Specter


for flute, violin, viola, cello, piano and video
(2018)





Commissioned by Musiqa New Music Collective for Loop38 ensemble. Special thanks to Jungle Gardens of Avery Island, Louisiana, for film footage and inspiration.


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Christopher Biggs:
Contraposition, Gigue


for piano and computer
(2015)





Contraposition was commissioned by and is dedicated to pianist Kari Johnson. This work is organized in the manner of a traditional Baroque dance suite. Baroque dance music is almost all binary in its formal structure. Extrapolating from this binary concept, each movement of this work focuses on one or more oppositional ideas, either within and/or between the various media. Any or all movements of the work can be presented and in any order.


Video for the movement, Gigue, is by richard.


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Caroline Louise Miller:
Anarrhichthys Loops



fixed media
(2013)





Anarrhichthys loops was originally a fixed media acousmatic piece composed by Caroline Louise Miller for a concert at the Birch Aquarium (at Scripps Institute of Oceanography) in La Jolla, CA. The video is richard's response to that piece, derived from footage captured at that original performance. Following the creation of the video, Caroline reworked the original audio, offering a response to richard's interpretation.



Christopher Biggs:
Biodiversity, Mvt. III


for flute, cello, piano, two percussionists, and two computers
(2013)





Biodiversity was created with the generous support of the “A & D Issa Music and Dance Faculty Award.” The work abstractly reflects on biodiversity and human interactions with the environment that support or threaten biodiversity.


Mvt III features video work by multiple artists. The opening sequence of the movement is by richard.


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Original Video works by richard



IMAGE: still from "Susquehanna River, October"



Susquehanna River, October



fixed media
for video and stereo audio
(2022)





A hike along the Susquehanna River in Harford County, Maryland, on a rainy October day.



Socavino



fixed media
for video and 5.1 surround sound
(2017)





"Ahh... wine and romance."



Musashi



for flute, electronics, and video
(2012)





Musashi is guided by excerpts from Miyamoto Musashi's text on strategy, Go Rin No Sho. Musical material is inspired by Honshirabe, a prominent work in shakuhachi repertoire. Throughout the piece, the fixed part is derived from samples of taiko and shakuhachi, the metallic clash and scrape of swords, and a reading of the Fudo-myoo sutra. Elements of taiko performance are also featured in both parts, particularly the concept of oroshi, a gesture in which the interval (or ma) between sonic events is reduced over time.


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Introit



for trumpet, electronics, and video
(2011)





An Introit calls the congregation to the sacred ritual of Eucharist. There was a time when the holiness of this ritual was threatened by the Armed Man (L’homme arme), who dared to bring the popular sound of the masses into the sacred space of the Church. Some believed that the use of so catchy a tune, drunkenly sung in medieval taverns across the land, damaged the sanctity of both the ritual and the hallowed grounds on which it took place.


Introit for solo trumpet and electronics was commissioned by—and is dedicated to—Samuel Wells.


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Hiram



for clarinet, electronics, and video
(2012)





Hiram Bingham III is frequently credited as the “discoverer” of Machu Picchu. At the dawn of the twentieth century, he was guided by local Quechua campesinos to the awe-inspiring ruins that overlook the Urubamba River Valley. He dedicated many years of his life to the exploration of the Peruvian Andes and the remnants of Incan civilization, still inhabited by Quechua and the mysteries of an ancient people.


Hiram was commissioned by—and is dedicated to—Cheryl Melfi.


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richard publishes under Charcoal Media, LLC
ASCAP member

email richard at richard@composerjohnson.com



richard johnson,
composer and multimedia artist