Coordinator, Percussion Program
Percussion David Johnson coordinates the percussion program at the California Institute of the Arts where he has been teaching since 1991. He plays marimba with Lian Records recording artists, the Lian Ensemble, and Dark Wing. He is the percussionist with the chamber ensemble XTET and plays in PARTCH, a chamber group dedicated to performing the music of Harry Partch. He has worked directly with composers as diverse as Pierre Boulez and John Zorn. He plays vibraphone and marimba with the Vinny Golia Large Ensemble the Kim Richmond Jazz Orchestra, and pops/classical pianist veteran Roger Williams. He has played mallets and percussion with Yusef Lateef, Mel Torme, Dave Brubeck, Maureen McGovern, Wadada Leo Smith, and on movie soundtracks such as Spider Man 3 and The Matrix. He has performed with the L.A. Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, and the L.A. Master Chorale and was a member of the historic Blackearth Percussion Group in the 1970’s. He has been recorded on many independent record labels including CRI, Opus One, Seabreeze, Nine Winds, New Albion, Lian Records,and New World Records. His own compositions for marimba, vibraphone and percussion are played around the world and are handled by Marimba Productions Inc. djohnson@calarts.edu