Biography :

Fergus Johnston was born in 1959 and graduated from TCD with an Honours degree in Music in 1982. He was elected to membership of A¢sdna, Ireland's state-supported artistic academy, in 1992, and was a board member of the National Concert Hall from 1996 until this year.

He has been active as a composer since 1981, and his works have been widely performed both in Ireland and abroad. He has written for a wide variety of genres, including dance, and has collaborated on a number of successful projects with Rubato Dance.

His many works include Samsara (1991) for orchestra , commissioned by RT for the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Kaleidophone (1992) for string quartet, harp and percussion, commissioned by Young European Strings, Cusp (1992) for violin and piano, commissioned by Rubato Dance, and "Je go-te le jeu..." (1997) for strings, commissioned by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. He has also written a short opera, Bitter Fruit (1992) commissioned by Opera Theatre Company, and a flute concerto (1996) commissioned by RT for the NSOI.

Feeling the need both to update his techniques, and to find a way to make his music speak to a new audience, he recently returned to college and completed a Master's Degree in Music and Media Technology at TCD (1999). Since then has successfully devoted his compositional activities to producing music in which the computer plays an integral role, both during the compositional process as a compositional assistant, and in a live context as a determining factor in performance.

As an educationalist, Fergus Johnston taught for ten years in Newpark Music Centre (1983 -92) and in the Music Department of Trinity College (1986-92). An imaginative teacher, he is also actively sought after as a composition workshop leader and in addition to leading workshops for the Opera Theatre Company, he has been a prominent figure in the National Concert Hall's "In Tune" music residencies scheme since its inception.