Topic: College of Fine Arts

January 16, 2015

Derek Johnson
Derek Johnson, an assistant professor of music theory and composition, will perform in Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series as part of "Reich and Sondheim: In Conversation and Performance," a tribute to two of the country's greatest living composers.

A Ball State music professor will participate in the Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series this January as part of a tribute performance to two of the country's greatest living composers.

Derek Johnson, an electric guitarist and assistant professor of music theory and composition, is among a handful of artists nationwide selected for "Reich and Sondheim: In Conversation and Performance" on Jan. 31 at New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The concert brings together classical composer Steve Reich with musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim for an on-stage conversation, after which their seminal works will be performed. Along with Johnson, artists include Tony Award winners Paul Gemignani and Michael Cerveris and the critically acclaimed Ensemble Signal. Johnson will perform Reich's "Electrical Counterpoint," a piece of instrumental music he describes as both gratifying to play and pleasing to the audience.

"Being given the opportunity to work directly with Steve Reich while I prepare the recording has been wonderful," says Johnson, who teaches Reich's music in his courses. "I'm very honored."

Reich is best known for his work in the 1960s, pioneering minimal music. His most recent album, “Radio Rewrite,” was released this fall. Sondheim's most famous contributions to musical theater include “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods.” He was recently honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Johnson said the collaboration between these two artists, men whose musical backgrounds are vastly different, may seem odd to most. "But from my point of view, it reflects how the divisions between different types of genres are falling away," he said. "What these two have in common greatly outweighs any differences.”

An avid multi-instrumentalist and educator of contemporary concert music and beyond, Johnson said his main focus is the emerging position of the electric guitar in concert music. He has performed Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” for solo electric guitar and recorded backing track somewhere around 20 times in shows all around the world. The concert will be the first time he performs the piece with his own track consisting of 12 guitar and two bass parts.

Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series runs Jan. 21 to March 28 with a lineup including musical celebrities such as Barbara Cook, Norm Lewis and Megan Hilty. More information about the series can be found at americansongbook.org. 

By Laura Oldiges