The Systematic Mr. Johnson

Paris Transatlantic has a nice interview with composer Tom Johnson here.

Tom is a wonderful composer and perhaps uniquely combines rigor and joy in his music, and he's certainly one of the very few with a genuine sense of humor, abundantly on evidence in his comic operas, works that actually have the audience laughing. He's one of the persons in the Republic of New Music I value most, and it's sad not to see him more often. At a few uncertain points in my composing life, Tom has stepped in with a few words that have proven invaluable. He has never taught in a formal setting, be I suspect that his informal tutorials have been essential to more than a few younger colleagues.