Brannon Warn-Johnston is an enthusiastic composer, violinist and pianist. On November 10th 2023 at Benaroya Hall she performed solo violin with the 80 person Northwest Symphony Orchestra in the premier of her latest composition “Escape” at a benefit concert for Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Brannon’s compositions have been performed by musicians from the Seattle Symphony, Symphony Tacoma, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and Seattle Conservatory of Music. She has received many awards for her compositions including: 1st place winner in the 2023 Foundation for Modern Music Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers; 2023 and 2022 National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Contest Washington State winner, Western Region winner, and 2022 National Merit Incentive Award recipient, and National Honorable Mention recipient; Simon-Fiset Composition Competition winner for three consecutive years (1st and 3rd place in 2023); 1st place winner in the SMTA Young Composers Project in 2022; National Guild of Piano Teachers International Piano Composition Contest winner and honorable mention two years; and Washington State PTA Reflections winner two years. In 2023 the Seattle Symphony premiered one of her orchestral compositions in Benaroya Hall as a part of the 30th anniversary Merriman-Ross Family Young Composers Workshop during her second year in the program.
Brannon loves to play in orchestras and ensembles. She received the 2023 Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (SYSO) Inspiration Award for Debut Symphony Orchestra and has served as a concertmaster for SYSO and West Seattle Community Orchestras (WSCO). Brannon was accepted into the Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) Academy of Chamber Music fall 2023 session where she is participating in masterclasses and coachings with internationally renowned musicians. She also enjoys watching and participating in adjudications at Seattle Young Artists Music Festival (SYAMFA) and Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (PAFE). In 2023 she received her second seal of Special Recognition in violin performance for SYAMFA and was the second place award winner in her solo class at PAFE.
Brannon loves to go backpacking with her violin and staff paper and often takes inspiration for her compositions from nature and the outdoors. In the spring of 2023 she was diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing treatment including intense chemotherapy and several major surgeries. She is determined to continue participating in all the music she can, she considers it integral to her treatment, health and life.