Keith Johnson Faculty Profile

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Keith  Johnson

Wind Symphony Director

Department of Music

Keith Johnson is the newly appointed director of the CSU East Bay Wind Symphony. He holds a Bachelor of  Arts degree in music and a Master of Arts degree in music education with an emphasis in wind band  conducting from San José State University. He has served as Director of Bands at El Cerrito High School  since 2009. Prior to arriving at El Cerrito High School, Keith was the Director of the Jazzschool Young  Musicians Program in Berkeley, California, where he founded and directed the Downbeat Award-winning  Jazzschool Studio Band. 

Keith maintains an active schedule as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for honor bands and  summer camps in Northern California. Groups under his direction have received numerous awards and  performed in venues throughout North America and Europe including Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Symphony  Hall, the Kennedy Center, and at several jazz festivals including the Montruex, North Sea, Umbria, and  Monterey jazz festivals among others. During his tenure at El Cerrito High School, the Jazz Ensemble and  Wind Ensemble were both selected to perform at the California All-State Music Education Conference  (CASMEC) in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
  
Keith has served on the on the boards of several professional organizations including the California Music  Educators Association (CMEA), California Alliance for Jazz (CAJ), and currently as Past President of CMEA  Bay Section. Keith has been the recipient of various teaching honors that include the El Cerrito High School  Teacher of the Year in 2020, CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Jazz Educator Award in 2018, KRON 4  Teacher of the Week in 2016, CMEA Bay Section’s Gilbert T. Freitas Outstanding Music Educator Award and  West County Ed Fund’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2014. In 2014, Keith was also recognized as the  West Contra Costa Unified School District Teacher of the Year. 

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