Award-winning musician David “DJ” Johnson died of natural causes on June 7, 2020. Johnson enjoyed an accomplished musical career, including winning a Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium in 2015 as a member of the Partch Ensemble. Johnson also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, toured with pianist Roger Williams, and taught at the California Institute of the Arts for 26 years. David inspired generations of young musicians as a beloved and respected professor of the percussive arts. 

David’s musical upbringing began at age four, focusing on piano and organ. At 15, he started to learn the drums and eventually focused on percussion. After one year at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, David transferred to the University of Washington to earn his Bachelor of Music degree, specializing in orchestral percussion. While his skill set was commensurate with that of a classical percussionist, his passion lay in jazz and the improvised music of his time, the late 1960s and early ’70s. Offered a scholarship to California Institute of the Arts, Johnson completed his undergraduate studies there and was immediately recruited to join the Blackearth Percussion Group. After touring and recording for several years with Blackearth, David settled back in Los Angeles in 1977.

Eventually, Johnson took over for his teacher and mentor, John Bergamo, as CalArts’ Head of Percussion Studies, working with hundreds of students in the percussive arts over his 26 years as a professor. He was known for supporting students as they worked towards their goals, rather than forcing his vision onto them. 

His work as a freelance percussionist in Los Angeles included working with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he performed on over 40 major motion pictures. A noted composer, he won the Percussive Arts Society Composition Competition in 1995, and his published percussion-based works are performed worldwide. In 2001, Johnson was the first musician recruited for the Partch Ensemble, and he remained a central figure in the band until 2016; he retired from CalArts in 2017, but stayed musically active, continuing to perform solo piano renditions of traditional jazz standards, his first musical love.