Evan Johanson

Violinist Evan Johanson made his orchestral debut with the Seattle Symphony in 2015 after winning the Symphony’s Young Artist Award. In 2020, he was invited to play Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Colburn Orchestra. He is a first prize winner of the Simon-Fiset SMTA competition, and is a recipient of several other first prizes and honors including the Music of Remembrance/David Tonkonogui Memorial Award in 2016 and the Seattle Young Artist Competition. In November 2024 he was invited to participate in the ISANGYUN international violin competition. Other concerto appearances include the Seattle Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest Orchestra, Eastside Symphony, and the Seattle Youth Symphony. Orchestrally, Evan has performed with the Seattle Symphony; and served as concertmaster in New England Conservatory’s Chamber Orchestra, as well as a leader in both the Yale Philharmonia and the Colburn Orchestra. Before college, Evan was a part of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras program from 2006-2017, the last four of which he was concertmaster. Between 2018-2020 he also was principal second of the American Youth Symphony. Johanson has spent summers touring Latin America, Europe, and China with the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, serving as concertmaster in 2016 & 2017 under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach and Marin Alsop respectively. Evan was also appointed associate principal second for the 2023 New York String Orchestra Seminar, and associate concertmaster for the 2024 NYO All-Stars concert under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. An avid chamber musician, Johanson formed the Hart Quartet in 2019, which later went on to win first prize of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices Chamber Music Competition. Both in 2023 & 2024, his quartets at the Yale School of Music were awarded the prestigious Broadus Earle Quartet Prize. Also in both years at Yale, his respective quartets were winners in the Oneppo Chamber Music Competition. During his last year at the Colburn School, Evan curated two recitals dedicated purely to chamber music, performing with his colleagues and faculty such as Clive Greensmith and Fabio Bidini. He has also worked with artists such as Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Lawrence Power, Amy Yang, Marcy Rosen, Miklós Perényi, Jonathan Biss, and Janine Jansen. Since 2011, Evan’s participated in numerous music festivals around the world. Past appearances include Kronberg Academy’s Chamber Music Connects the World program,, Ravinia Steans Music Institute Program for Piano & Strings, International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Olympic Music Festival, Four Seasons Chamber Music Spring Workshop, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Aspen School of Music & Festival, and the Meadowmount School of Music. Johanson completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory in 2022 under the tutelage of Robert Lipsett, and his Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music in 2024 with Ani Kavaifan. Other mentors include Anthony Marwood, Mark Steinberg, Midori, Simon James, Judith Ingolfsson, and Margaret Pressley. Currently, Evan is pursuing his Graduate Diploma degree at the New England Conservatory under the guidance of Miriam Fried