Johnston, Ben (1926-2019) | University of Illinois Archives

Benjamin "Ben" Burwell Johnston Jr. (1926-2019) was an American composer of microtonal music. Born in Macon, Georgia, Johnston began composing in his teenage years, premiering his first composition at age 16. After graduating high school, Johnston enlisted in the US Navy near the end of WWII. Following his military service, Johnston earned a bachelors at William and Mary College in 1949. Following this, he enrolled at the Cincinnati Conservatory. However he soon abandoned this traditional method of learning composition, instead prefering to study with Harry Partch at his home in Gualala, California. He completed his masters degree in composition at Mills College, studying with Darius Milhaud.

In 1951, he was hired as an assistant professor of music and dance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Between 1957 and 1959, Johnston studied with John Cage while he was serving as an artist in residence. Johnston was granted tenure in 1959, the same year he won a Guggenheim Dellowship. Johnston was instrumental in bringing Partch to the University of Illinois, organizing the premiere of The Bewitched in 1957. Following John Garvey, Johnston chaired the music committee of the University's Festival of Contemporary Arts from 1962 to 1965. Johnston also collaborated with several university faculty, writing a microtonal mass for scalatron and choir, which was premiered by Harold Decker and the University of Illinois Choir. He retired from the University of Illinois in 1983. Johnston died from Parkinson's disease in 2019.

Kassel, Richard. "Johnston, Ben(jamin Burwell, Jr.)." Grove Music Online, 2013.

See also Von Gunden, Heidi. The Music of Ben Johnston. Metuchen, 1996.

Johnston, Ben. Maximum Clarity and Other Writings on Music, edited by Bob Gilmore. Urbana, 2006.