Craig Johnston

Principal Timpani

Craig Johnston has been principal timpanist with Portland Columbia Symphony since 1991. He and his wife Barbara (PCSO’s principal cellist) also are founding members of the Newport Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of his musical career include playing for Gerhardt Samuel in the Bay Area Honor Orchestra as a student, for Michael Senturia and Igor Stravinsky at UC Berkeley, and with many other groups. A retired engineer, Craig is also a woodworker and a passionate cruising sailor, having sailed with Barbara extensively in the Northwest and made crossing of both the South Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Their two sons live in Seattle and Los Angeles.

Craig Johnston’s chair is sponsored by Col. Mary J. Mayer, USAF (Ret.) and George & Susan Stonecliffe

Events featuring Craig Johnston

PCSO Percussion and Friends Featuring Michael Charles Smith
Michael Charles Smith, marimba soloist
Mike Romanaggi, Craig Johnston, Nick Rose, Isaac Rains, Jim Casella, and Brian Gardener, percussion

Virtual Event

March 26 7:00 pm

PCSO’s Michael Charles Smith, Mike Romanaggi, Craig Johnston and a few of our friends perform Mozart’s haunting Lacrimosa, Elgar’s beloved Nimrod, Smith’s own “Water” (featuring stunning visuals by Kenton Nelson and Erwin Darmali) and Ney Rosauro’s virtuosic Concerto No. 1 for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble. See for yourself the many – and at times surprising – sides of percussion!

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