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A native Washingtonian, Allyn Johnson is a musician, composer, arranger, and producer whose trademark sound gives brilliance and fortitude to the art of jazz improvisation. Johnson began playing piano at the age of five and got his start as an accompanist for the youth choir in his uncle’s church. While a student at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), where he earned a B.M. in Jazz Studies, he was mentored by the late jazz legend Calvin Jones and was the first recipient of the Felix E. Grant Scholarship. He was an adjunct professor of music and assistant director in UDC’s Jazz Studies program for six years before succeeding Jones as the director in 2005. In 2001, Johnson was chosen for Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program and returned to teach in the program in 2002. In 2005, he started the Divine Order, an ensemble combining gospel, jazz, and classical music. Johnson also has a group called Sonic Sanctuary that performs a range of music from acoustic and jazz to jazz fusion and funk.