Bradley Johnson

Bradley Johnson is a classical guitarist and mandolinist based in London. Bradley has performed at renowned venues and festivals across the UK, including King's Place, St. John's Smith Square, Bridgewater Hall, Duke's Hall, the University of Surrey, Liverpool University, and the Buxton Festival. He has participated in masterclasses with esteemed artists and teachers such as Zoran Dukic, Ricardo Gallen, Jose Antonio Escobar, Elena Papandreou, and Gordon Crosskey. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music's Advanced Diploma course, Bradley studied under Professor Michael Lewin and developed a strong affinity for contemporary music. His project has led to four premiere recordings by composers Gary Carpenter, Phil Cashian, David Gorton, and Marino-Arcaro, which have been released by the Academy as part of their Bicentenary. Bradley's earlier studies at RAM culminated in an MA with Distinction, the DipRAM (the highest performance award conferred by the Academy) During his time there, he performed for the 400+ Series and the Tuesday and Thursday Series, received guidance from David Russell and Fabio Zanon, as well as coaching from Professor Stephen Goss and Timothy Walker. He also performed for the Assad Brothers, David Leisner, and early music specialists Nigel North and Elizabeth Kenny. Prior to this he studied with Craig Ogden at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he graduated with First Class Honours. Bradley has received numerous awards and scholarships throughout his career. These include the Bache Fund Prize, a Special Commendation from the Boise Foundation Scholarship Trust, twice receiving the Blyth Watson Charitable Trust Award, and the Charlotte Fraser Award. He won First Prize in the Ivor Mairants Guitar Award and First Prize in the Blyth Watson Guitar Concerto competition (Royal Academy of Music's Guitar Prize) He was also a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and an IGF Young Artist. Bradley has represented the Worshipful Company of Musicians at the International Guitar Research Conference (IGRC) at the University of Surrey. He has been involved with the IGRC since, performing at the Centenary celebrations of Reginald Smith-Brindle, where he played solo works and rare guitar duos with Professor Steven Thachuk from California State University—their first performance since their premieres by Julian Bream and John Williams. Currently, Bradley is a member of the Cerulean Trio with fellow guitarists Michael Matthews and Gonçalo Maia Caetano. Despite being a new ensemble, the trio has already found success, performing at the Uppsala Guitar Festival in Sweden after reaching the final of the festival's competition. In addition to his work with the guitar, Bradley performs on the mandolin with the Academy Symphony Orchestra, the Manson Ensemble, and the Castalian String Quartet. His performance of Don Giovanni’s Serenade with Academy Opera was praised by Brian Dickie of Chicago Opera as "astonishingly beautiful." Apart from performing, Bradley is a dedicated teacher. After earning the Academy's teaching diploma (LRAM) with Distinction, he has tutored guitar for the BMus course at King's College London. Bradley performs on guitars made by Philip Woodfield (Grand Concert II - 'Orsolya') and Manuel Contreras (Doble-Tapa). Residing in Wimbledon, he teaches at the Wimbledon classical Guitar Society (WiGS), where he also contributes to their concert series and offers performance coaching.