Ken Johnston is active both as a performer and a teacher of the violin. In addition to his performing as Concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic, he holds the same chair with the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra of Cleveland. He has played with the Akron, Canton, Youngstown, and Cleveland Pops Orchestras of Ohio, as well as the Virginia Symphony and the Wheeling Symphony of West Virginia. Donald Rosenberg of The Plain Dealer remarked that Johnston “triumphed whenever he touched bow to strings.”

He has taught violin students at Ohio State University, and has served on the faculty of Mercyhurst College, where he taught both violin and viola to undergraduate music students and conducted ensemble performances such as Mozart’s Opera, The Magic Flute.  In addition, he has been a faculty member of the Luzerne Chamber Music Festival, where he performed as a member of the Luzerne Chamber Players.

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance, Johnston studied with Professor David Updegraff and served as Mr. Updegraff’s Teaching Assistant.