Dr. Sharon Johnson Appointed to Horne-Blanchard Chair of Music

Houghton, NY—Houghton University is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sharon Johnson to the Horne-Blanchard Chair of Music.

The Horne-Blanchard Chair of Music was established in 2014 by Dr. David and Mrs. Allene (Horne ’57) Blanchard to recognize and celebrate a faculty member’s talents in music and teaching. Mrs. Blanchard graduated from Houghton College with a Bachelor of Music in applied piano and then went on to teach music at Marion College (now Indiana Wesleyan University). Dr. Blanchard is the retired President of Space Missions Systems Division of Lockheed Martin and a former member of Houghton’s Board of Trustees (1988-2003). They created the fund out of gratitude for the foundational worldview Allene developed during her time at Houghton and out of a desire to help make a Houghton experience affordable for others.

Dr. Sharon Johnson joined the Houghton faculty in 2004, and today serves as Professor of Piano and Coordinator of Collaborative Piano. Dr. Johnson has been instrumental in developing the collaborative performance program for Houghton’s graduate students. Dr. Johnson is an active performer both as a collaborative artist and as a member of the piano duo Music By Two. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, a recording artist, and a researcher with interest in American women composers and art songs. Dr. Johnson and her duo piano partner Nancy Davis are currently preparing Music By Two’s debut album American Landscapes, which includes two premier recordings of pieces by American composers.

“Over the past 21 years at Houghton University, Dr. Johnson has contributed richly to the University’s music program, particularly through her work in collaborative piano, both as an educator and a performer,” stated Dr. David Clem ’05 MM ’07, Dean of the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton University. “Her innovative pedagogy and passionate commitment to excellence have greatly enriched the educational experiences of our students and fostered artistic growth. We are grateful for the generosity of the Blanchards and are delighted to have Dr. Johnson stepping into this chair.”

Outside the classroom, Dr. Johnson is a widely recognized collaborative performer. She has been named an official pianist for the International Double Reed Society Conference, the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference, the National Association for Teachers of Singing competitions and the International Horn Prize Competition. She participated in the Fall Island Repertoire Development Program, was a finalist in The American Prize Competition Professional Chamber Ensemble Division, and has been the recipient of multiple faculty development grants for her recording and performing work.

Dr. Johnson completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in collaborative piano at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Margo Garrett and Tim Lovelace.

The Horne-Blanchard Chair of Music is an endowed fund providing for the compensation of the chair holder and additional professional development funds. The recipient is nominated and voted upon by her peers to hold a five-year appointment. Dr. Johnson is the second faculty member to the Horne-Blanchard Chair of Music, which was most recently held by Dr. William John Newbrough, professor of piano.