Dr. Allen Eugene Johnson

Allen’s formative years were spent in Little Rock, Ark., where he attended public elementary and secondary schools. Thereafter, he attended the University of Arkansas for one year before entering the University of North Texas (Denton), where he received a Bachelor of Music Education. He then attended Stanford University, where he received a Master of Arts, in Composition, and a Doctor of Musical Arts, in Composition. At Stanford, he studied composition with Leland Smith and Theodore Antoniou. At the invitation of the French government, Allen studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Allen served in the United States Air Force Reserve for six years and was honorably discharged with the title of Sergeant in 1969.

Allen moved to Knoxville in 1971, where he began a long tenure as a professor in the University’s School of Music. He taught music theory and composition and during his time at the University, he composed a wide variety of orchestral, instrumental, and vocal works. He retired in 1996.

While at UT, he was honored with a residency at the Charles Ives Center for Contemporary Music (Milford, Conn.), and was named an associate at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. In 1989, he participated in a cultural concert tour of Russia, during which one of his works was performed in Moscow, Tbilisi, and St. Petersburg. He also received an ASCAP Award for composition in both 1994-95 and 1995-96.

Although music was his primary focus for many years, he had many other interests that included architecture (particularly Frank Lloyd Wright), modern furniture design, museums, world travel, cooking, gardening, classic cars, visual arts, gemstones, reading, movies, opera, croquet, and concerts. His church home was St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.

His survivors include cousins Dorothy Crane, Mary Anne Gooley, Linda Vines, Judith McReynolds, Barbara Griffin, Steve Michell, Edwin Crane, Martha Sue Johnson Fields, Danny Johnson, and their family members, in addition to many close friends, neighbors, former students, and music colleagues.

A private celebration of Allen’s life will be held in Knoxville later this year. Those wishing to honor Allen’s life and ensure his legacy as a music educator are invited to make a charitable donation to the Michell-Johnson Music Scholarship Endowment, at the University of North Texas, for full-time students majoring in music, which he established in 2017. To donate online, visit https://tinyurl.com/JohnsonMusicUNT, or send a check made payable to “UNT Foundation” and include on the memo line “The Michell-Johnson Music Scholarship Endowment”, and mail it to the University of North Texas, Division of University Advancement, 1155 Union Circle, #311250, Denton, TX 76203-5017.