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about LOUIS VALENTINE JOHNSON

 My first music education came in grade school in Idaho. I played the trombone. I grew up by the gorgeous Payette River, the outrageous Snake River, the majestic Seven Devils Mountains and much more. I had wonderful art, music and English teachers in the midst of extraordinary settings of impressive nature. My high school art instructor Mr. Jackman played guitar and sang to focus the class. We were not given attention deficit or depression medication. My art teacher is where the guitar began for me.
Then came Army training and the 101st Airborne Division, and off to Vietnam.  When I came home from the war it was to the University where I earned three degrees, became a faculty member and taught guitar for a few years. What wonderful times some of those were. 
Life always seems to take us to where we are now. Here is my now: Music and Composing. 

The ambition of my music is to express emotionally accessible beauty, and chronicle some of the pain of our human condition. My compositions: White Bird Pass, Reflections 911 for solo guitar, and cello, Goodbye to Mexico, Solstice, Walking the Yuba River, and Snake River Sunset are just a few examples!  These are melodic works in a sometimes slightly modern style. My works reflect nature, both human and natural.

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Each morning of my life now brings the beauty of a cup of coffee, a newspaper, and thoughts of what the guitar and I will compose and play together as we look through the windows at a forest of green pine trees in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

 

This is a beautiful way to live.

Enjoy your life, your guitar, and this music.

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