Trent Johnson's 'Concertante for Organ and String Quartet' will be premiered July 4, 8 PM, Morristown, NJ

The composer, organist and conductor Trent Johnson sends exciting news of the July 4 premiere of his Concertante for Organ and String Quartet, commissioned by the Convention for Regions I and II of the American Guild of Organists:

Dear Mr. Zick,

I wanted to let you know about an upcoming premiere of a new work of mine. The American Guild of Organists is having their Convention for Regions I and II (NJ, NY, Boston and parts north) in Morristown, NJ from July 3-6. As part of the recitals, concerts, workshops, and exhibits there will be a concert for organ and instruments.

I feel very honored that the convention commissioned me to write a new work for organ and string quartet. The work, Concertante for Organ and String Quartet, is in 3 movements and is about 12 minutes in length. The performers will be the Shanghai String Quartet, and organist Dr. Marilyn Keiser from Indiana University. The concert will take place on July 4 from 8-9:30pm at Morristown United Methodist Church, 50 South Park Place, Morristown, NJ 07960. Tickets are $15 at the door. Thank you.

Trent Johnson

Trent Johnson Conducts Oratorio Singers in Buxtehude, Handel & PDQ Bach in Westfield NJ March 6 at 3 PM

[Trent Johnson]

The organist and conductor Trent Johnson of New Jersey sends news of a concert on Sunday, March 6, 2011 which includes a satirical work by P.D.Q. Bach, the alias of Prof. Peter Schickele:

"Hello Friends,

On Sunday, March 6, at 3pm I will be conducting the Oratorio Singers with soloists and members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 3 works. We will be presenting Buxtehude's Magnificat anima mea, Handel's Dettingen Te Deum and PDQ Bach's humorous creation, his Missa Hilarious SN20. Our soloists will be countertenor Jeffrey Mandelbaum, and bass-baritone Brace Negron.

The concert will take place at the First United Methodist Church, One East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090, (908)233-4211. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 general admission, and $15 for students and seniors. I hope you can join us!

Trent Johnson

http://www.oratoriosingerswestfield.org/

Trent Johnson plays organ for 'The Son of the Sheik,' Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Bernardsville, NJ, Feb. 11

[TOP: Trent X. Johnson BOTTOM: Trent X. Johnson, Organist at Movie Night, The Son of the Sheik]

Our most recent post on the organist and composer Trent X. Johnson was dated Dec. 4, 2010: “CD 'Halcyon Trio' features works of Trent Johnson, Alfred Uhl & Max Bruch, Xtreme Medium (2002).” We continue to be very satisfied with our purchase of the disc at the website of the Halcyon Trio. Today we learned that Trent Johnson will play an organ accompaniment to a silent film being shown Friday, February 11 at 7:30pm at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 111 Claremont Road, Bernardsville, New Jersey.

CD 'Halcyon Trio' features works of Trent Johnson, Alfred Uhl & Max Bruch, Xtreme Medium (2002)

[TOP: Halcyon Trio; Alfred Uhl: Kleines Konzert; MaxBruch: Eight Pieces, Op. 83, Nos. 1-4; Trent Johnson: Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano; Xtreme Medium HT 001 (2002) BOTTOM: Trent X. Johnson]

On April 14, 2009 AfriClassical posted: “'Trio' & 'Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra' Among Compositions of Trent X. Johnson.” We noted that we had obtained a copy of the CD Halcyon Trio, recorded by the ensemble of the same name. After a year and a half of frequent listening, we regard this CD as a real find. Trent Johnson's Trio is well matched with the works of the two composers who are far better known, the Austrian Alfred Uhl (1909-1992) and the German Max Bruch (1838-1920). To our ear this program is well executed in three dynamic performances. The CD is a hidden gem, available only at the website of the Halcyon Trio.

Composer Trent Johnson is an active organist in New Jersey. He is scheduled to perform in a holiday concert in Somerville, New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010:

MyCentralJersey.com

Choral Concert

Daren L. McCann

Nov. 29, 2010

On Sunday, December 12th, the Deer Ridge Singers, a long-established local choral ensemble under the direction of the group's founder, Daren L. McCann, will present a Christmas concert at the United Reformed Church, 100 W. Main Street, Somerville, NJ. The 7:00 p.m. concert will feature seasonal selections from throughout the centuries...” “The concert will feature professional string, percussion, and brass instrumentalists. Trenton Johnson, concert organist and composer, will be the guest organist at the performance. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased either by calling (908)-757-1151 for advance sales, or at the door.

'Trio' & 'Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra' Among Compositions of Trent X. Johnson

Paul M. Somers recently told AfriClassical about Trent Johnson: “Dear Mr. Zick, It's time for you to learn of Trent Xavier Johnson, a wonderful classical composer and brilliant organist. He has chamber music, choral music with orchestra, and at least two concertos (trumpet; viola) which have been played as far away as Ukraine. This guy is the real thing. His trio for the Halcyon Trio can be purchased on that group's website. He is currently the music director at the First United Methodist Church, 1 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090” 

Trent Johnson's website list 21 selected titles from his recent compositions, including: “In Homage of Spring (2009) for chorus, soprano soloist, and orchestra, written for the Oratorio Singers; Viola Concerto (2008), commissioned by violist Brett Deubner of New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; Elegy (2008), a work for organ and string orchestra, premiered in Kyiv, Ukraine”. We have obtained a copy of the CD Halcyon Trio, Xtreme Medium HT 001 (2002). The other two composers represented on the disc are Alfred Uhl and Max Bruch. Trent Johnson is represented by his composition Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano. The liner notes by Paul Somers say: “Trent Johnson's intent in his Trio was to compose pure music with no story or extra-musical meanings attached.”

Trumpeter David Glukh of New York City tells us he too has recorded Trent Johnson's music: “Recently I have recorded a new exciting concerto for trumpet and orchestra by African American composer Trent Johnson (2004 recipient of the Vladimir and Rhoda Lakond Award in composition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, in NYC). Premiere performance and recording of this piece took place in Kiev, Ukraine with Kiev Kamerata in April 2008.” An upcoming organ concert is listed on Trent Johnson's website: “June 2009, Trent performs a concert on the 4 manual, Warren/Casavant organ with violinist Alex Djokic at St. Paul's Cathedral, London Ontario, Canada.”