Born in Liverpool in 1953, FRANZ JOHNSTON began playing at the age of five. He gave his first recital at the age of thirteen, and, after full time education, he studied in London with the distinguished concert pianist – PHILIP JENKINS (Royal Academy) and composition with REGINALD THOMPSON. In 1976 he represented his college at St. John’s, Smith Square for the B.B.C., and after a number of very successful recitals and concerts was awarded the 1975 Lloyd Webber Council Prize for performance.

 

After a short spell in mainstream teaching, Franz was appointed principal piano teacher at Trent College Independent School in 1977. This year also began his own teaching practice in Nottingham – a practice that has now spanned nearly four decades establishing him as one of  the leading and most respected teachers in Nottinghamshire and the Midlands. Many of his students have gone on to further their music studies at the Royal Academy, Royal Schools, Royal Manchester and Birmingham Conservatoire, Oxford and Cambridge.

 

He appeared as guest concerto soloist in the early eighties with various Nottingham orchestras and also began a series of successful recitals. In 1984 he was appointed as a lecturer in harmony and counterpoint, as well as piano studies at Clarendon College (New College Nottingham).

He left lecturing in the late 1990’s to devote all his time to teaching, playing, examining, adjudicating at festivals and another long time passion – composing.

In the summer of 2009, he made his return to the concert platform at the Albert Hall in Nottingham with a critically acclaimed performance of Tchaikowski’s Piano Concerto No 1 in Bb minor, with the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra and Derek Williams conducting.