Called “a sensitive performer” by the New York Times and “especially impressive” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, James Johnston has enjoyed an active and varied career as a pianist, keyboardist, composer, and arranger. A graduate of the Juilliard School and Yale University, James was a winner in both the Yellow Springs and Fischoff National Chamber Music Competitions with the Proteus Ensemble, and is also a founding member of Newspeak, Electric Kompany, the Fireworks Ensemble, and Trio Chimera. He has also performed with Eighth Blackbird, the Orion Quartet, the Ethel Quartet, Zephyros Winds, Either/Or, the Wordless Orchestra, the S.E.M Ensemble, and Le Train Bleu, and his concert schedule has included performances in Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Whitney Museum, the Ford Theatre, the Library of Congress, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Heinz Hall, Disney Hall, and the Walter Reade Theatre as part of the Great Performers at Lincoln Center series.

Some of James’s performance highlights include Tyondai Braxton’s Central Market with the London Sinfonietta and LA Philharmonic, a Centennial performance of Pierrot Lunaire with the Proteus Ensemble at the Five Boroughs Music Festival, and performances of John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3 at the 2014 Vail Festival. Notable concerto appearances include Mozart K453 (with original cadenzas) with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Elliot Carter’s Double Concerto (on Harpsichord) and John Adams Grand Pianola Music with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra. Upcoming projects include concerts and a recording of the complete piano music of David T. Little.

Always an advocate of new music, James served as the pianist in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble from 2001-2003 and has worked with Jacob Ter Veldhuis, David del Tredici, and Mark Mellits on new works. James has himself composed numerous piano miniatures and chamber pieces, including Small Spaces which he premiered at the BGSU New Music Festival in 2025. The works he has arranged for his ensembles span from Bach’s Ricercar from the Art of the Fugue, to Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, to Eric Dolphy’s Hat and Beard. He has also written and performed numerous electronic tracks as the creator of the modern math pop group inalgebra and contributed music to the 2021 Netflix film Passing.

James received his doctoral degree at the Manhattan School of Music and currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA. His playing can be heard on the New Amsterdam, Bridge, and Basta record labels.