"Louis Valentine Johnson plays the guitar with amazing clarity. Each note is perfectly articulated and beautifully formed. His tone is full of light and richly colored. His playing of this music embodies a profound respect for its history and gives the listener an illuminating personal encounter with the composer and the period."
-Dr. Suzanne Gasster, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Louis Valentine Johnson has performed and recorded as a soloist, and with orchestras in the U.S.A., South America, Mexico and Canada. A Recording Artist with three CD's, and a fourth due to be released later this year on the Dos Almas Label, Louis Valentine Johnson's recordings were reviewed by Carlos R. Alicea, BMG Records, New York City, who wrote:

"…rarely recorded works coupled with Louis Valentine Johnson's great playing."

Recent concert bookings have been in Seattle, Pullman, Chico, Sacramento, Fairfield, and San Francisco, as well as performances in Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. In addition to having recorded three CD's, most recently La Hora Azul (The Blue Hour), his radio and television credits include National Public Radio-Classical Broadcasts, KQED-San Francisco, KVMR- Nevada City, and KWSP- Santa Cruz.

Louis Valentine Johnson recently composed the solo guitar work, American Reflections, a composition consisting of September Eleventh, which memorializes the human tragedy in Manhattan, Washington DC and Philadelphia, Goodbye to Mexico, a composition written in memory of fourteen Mexican citizens who died at the Arizona-Mexico Border in May 2001, Children Dancing and Walking the Yuba River.

The well known New York Composer, Mark A. Radice, recently composed and dedicated a composition, Tocatta, Evocation, and Fandango, to Louis Valentine Johnson (see The Blue Hour CD at www.dosalmas.com). Louis Valentine Johnson has also transcribed Tartini's The Devil's Trill, Corelli's La Folia, and several other pieces for guitar, adding to the performance repertoire.

Louis Valentine Johnson is a graduate of Idaho State University, where he received an undergraduate performance scholarship and a Bachelor of Music degree in guitar. He also graduated with honors from San Francisco State University, receiving the Master of Arts Degree in the Guitar Performance Program. Master class studies include classes with Narciso Yepes, Christopher Parkening, Abel Carlevaro, Julian Bream, and Alirio Diaz. Louis Valentine performs and records with a Jose Oribe "Gran Suprema" guitar. Maestro Ken Hardin, Conductor of Orchestra Panache recently wrote:

"Louis Valentine Johnson is a polished artist. He is creative in performances and continues to bring new works to the concert stage. It has always been a pleasure collaborating on our orchestral performances with Lou."

Reviews

"Rarely recorded works coupled with Louis Valentine Johnson's great playing"

Carlos Alicea, BMG Records NYC
 

"Louis Valentine Johnson is an accomplished and versatile solo guitarist with an established reputation for concerto and concert performances of the highest caliber."

Pam Remijio, Dos Almas Music
 

"Louis Valentine Johnson is a polished artist. He is creative in performances and continues to bring new works to the concert stage. It has always been a pleasure collaborating on our orchestral performances with Lou."

Ken Hardin, Conductor, Orchestra Panache California
 

"Louis Valentine Johnson brought his guitar artistry to Miners Foundry Friday night, September 30th. It was not long until the audience responded to his command of the classics from Spain and the works of H. Villa-Lobos with warmth and admiration. Resounding applause and bravos filled the hall at the end of the evening."

Joseph Guida, Station Manager KVMR Radio, Nevada City, California
 

"As a guitarist and musician, Louis Valentine Johnson is a dedicated hand at the heart of the people's souls."

Albert Huerta, S.J., University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California
 

"I have listened to Louis Valentine's Guitarra Classica I Album and it is very good! I keep this CD beside my stereo at home."

William Glackin, Classical Music Critic,The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California
 

"I have had the pleasure of hearing Louis Valentine Johnson perform on several occasions. He possesses not only a fine technique, but also a thorough knowledge of Baroque performance practices. He is a sensitive and talented musician."

Dr. Mark A. Radice, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York.
 

"...rarely recorded works coupled with Louis Valentine Johnson's great playing..."

Carlos R. Alicea, BMG Records, New York City.
 

"He succeeds beautifully. Johnson is a fine technician, articulating notes with clarity and warmth. His playing is dignified without seeming staid...subtly passionate...this recording's quiet delicate beauty is its own reward."

Paul Harrar, The Union, Grass Valley California.
 

"Johnson is at his best bringing out moods, expressions, and subtle tones. While most guitarists play Bach like well-tempered metronomes, Johnson can transcend geometry to a warm, fluid sensitivity."

Joan LaLiberte, The Idaho State Journal.
 

"This remarkable collection of mostly 16th Centruy Spanish Guitar music is performed with astonishing grace and restraint... Johnson's playing is superb, delightfully clear and tasteful - throughout this first in a series devoted to the history of music for the classical guitar."

Richard Dunk, KVMR- FM Program Guide, Sacramento California.

Contact details and further information

E-mail  Louis Valentine Johnson

For further details, see Louis Valentine Johnson