Don Johns

About the Artist

Don Johns is an in-demand percussion performer and educator in the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan area.  He is a regular substitute musician with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.  Dr. Johns is also principal timpanist of the Apollo Orchestra in Washington, DC.  In addition, he is the lead percussionist for Soulful Symphony (Columbia, MD).  Moreover, Dr. Johns is a proud member of both the Gateways Festival Orchestra (Rochester, NY) and the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra (Charleston, SC) - two groundbreaking groups that spotlight professional black classical musicians.  Along with orchestral work, Dr. Johns has played drum set and percussion for music productions at the Kennedy Center (DC), Hollywood Bowl (LA), and several other prominent institutions.  Dr. Johns is the Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Bowie State University in Bowie, MD.  From 2005-2015, Mr. Johns taught band and orchestra in both Prince George’s County Public Schools (2005-2011) and at KIPP DC (2011-2015).  In May 2022, Dr. Johns completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Percussion Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia.  He has a Master of Music Degree in Percussion Performance (2011) and Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education (2005); both from the University of Maryland.