Michelle Smith Johnson,                               clarinet

Michelle Smith Johnson, clarinetist and accomplished music educator, is currently serving as a middle and elementary school orchestra director for her fourteenth year with Roanoke City Public Schools. Due to her outstanding achievements in music education and her positive impact on the lives of her students, Michelle was honored as John P. Fishwick Middle School's 2014 Teacher of the Year and received the Superintendent’s Award in 2022.

In addition to her work as a public school music educator, Michelle serves as instructor of clarinet at Radford University. Michelle also enjoys freelance orchestra work, performing with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, among other performance endeavors across the state of Virginia.

As a co-founder of Alma Ensemble, she works with her co-founders and community partners to amplify the voices of underrepresented composers and to foster community engagement through chamber music.

Michelle holds performance and Music Education degrees from Radford University as well as a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

In her spare time, Michelle loves traveling, golf, gardening, DIY home-improvement projects, cooking, and spending time with her husband Sheldon and their two Shih Tzu rescues Song and Justine.

Questions for Michelle? Email her at michelle@almaensemble.org