With his works, Matt Johnson attempts to create music that bridges the gap between the popular and the academic, that will glorify God. Johnson was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1984. He began his interest in music at a young age and wrote his first work for orchestra at the age of 16. He attended Lynchburg College where he graduated in 2007 with a BA in Music with an emphasis in Instrumental Music Education. During his education there he studied composition under Dr. Esther Olin and composed several large works including a cantata and a full-length symphony. In 2009, he graduated from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro with an MM in Composition, having studied with Dr. Mark Engebretson and Dr. Alejandro Rutty. He is currently the Director of Music and Worship Arts at Garber United Methodist Church in New Bern, North Carolina, where he resides with his wife Mary Hannah.