Craig Hella Johnson

Craig Hella Johnson (born Craig Morris Johnson; June 15, 1962) is an American choral conductor, composer, and arranger.

Life and career
Craig Morris Johnson was born on June 15, 1962, in Crow Wing County, Minnesota to Morris Melvin Johnson (1929-2015) and Marjorie Kathryn ( Danielson) Johnson (b. 1931). He and one of his sisters adopted the middle name Hella, after the village in Norway that their family came from.

Originally from Minnesota, he studied piano and sang in the St. Olaf Choir at St. Olaf College, graduating in 1984.

He went on to study at Juilliard, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and Yale University, from which he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

He founded and is the artistic director of the group Conspirare. He is also former artistic director of the Victoria Bach Festival and in 1998-1999 was the artistic director of Chanticleer, the second person to hold that position (after founder Louis Botto).

In January 2001, Johnson was named director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus, a position he held for two years.

Johnson serves as Professor and Resident Artist in Choral Music at Texas State University and previously spent eight years as director of choral activities for The University of Texas.

In April 2013, Johnson was named the 2013 Texas State Musician, the second classical musician to receive the honor. In May 2013, Johnson was named Music Director/Conductor of Vocal Arts Ensemble in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On February 8, 2015, he and Conspirare won the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for their album The Sacred Spirit of Russia (Harmonia mundi HMU 807526).

Johnson premiered his first concert-length work, Considering Matthew Shepard, in 2016. This three-part "fusion oratorio" honors the life of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was murdered in Wyoming in 1998. Written in a variety of musical styles, the work incorporates poetry by Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne, and Rumi, along with passages from Shepard’s personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents, and more. Conspirare's recording of the piece was nominated for a Grammy Award. Considering Matthew Shepard was featured in a PBS documentary in 2018. It continues to be performed around the world.

Johnson lives in Austin, Texas, with his partner, architect Philip Overbaugh.