James Johnstone

James Johnstone is recognized internationally as one of the world’s most creative and distinguished harpsichordists and organists, in addition to his stature as a revered collaborative musician, teacher, and coach. He regularly appears with many of Europe’s most celebrated and respected ensembles, including Trio Sonnerie, Harmonie Universelle (Köln, Germany), iFuriosi (Toronto), and Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra. Under the invitation of Maestros Bernard Haitink and Sir Simon Rattle he has performed and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Bayerische Rundfunk (Bavarian Radio Orchestra).

After studies in London and Holland, Mr. Johnstone has forged a career as recitalist, chamber musician, continuo player and teacher. As a solo recitalist he has performed in Great Britain, Denmark, Holland, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Israel, Ecuador, Colombia and the United States.

Mr. Johnstone appears on 22 recordings on Deutsche Grammophon (one of Europe’s most prestigious labels) with the Gabrieli Consort and Players, 10 discs with the esteemed chamber ensemble Florilegium, as well as numerous solo discs of works by Blow, Gibbons, E Pasquini, Cornet, Elizabethan Virginalists, a Bach organ recital (Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam), and Bach’s Clavier-Übung Part III (Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim).

James is a professor of Early Keyboards at three of Europe’s most sought-out music conservatories, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London), Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London), and the Royal Academy of Music (London).