Makenzi Johnson

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A Latin inspired version of the Kansas state official anthem. This was originally arranged for Garden City High School's 2018 trip to Disney World. It was premiered on Memorial Day in the Memorial Day Parade in Orlando, Florida. A light and fun arrangement in 4/4 time, which makes it a great choice for marching band or parades!

Home On The Range

Concert Band Score & Parts

This piece was commissioned by the Garden City Municipal Band for its 145th consecutive season, the summer of 2023. When approached by the board's president, Lawrence Hoerman, I had a sort of dark melody swirling around my head without a real purpose to it. At the same time, an article about prehistoric Kansas had been circulating the social feeds, and it all clicked that this melody belonged to that article; this is how this piece was born.  

The general idea of the article described what Kansas looked like between 145 and 66 million years ago. Monstrous and huge aquatic life that would have been nightmare inducing. Examples of prehistoric life that existed here in the western half of the state include the Xiphactinus, (the famous 14-foot-long, Fish-within-a-Fish fossil), which is on display at the Sternberg Museum in Hays, Kansas. Other aquatic examples include reptiles the size of buses, clams as big as car hoods, and in the air flew Pteranodons with wingspans the size of U-Haul's.   

This article had several phrases that were jarring to me, and it had me trying to imagine what prehistoric Kansas might have looked like. This is where the continuous multi-movement idea came from; the fluidity and mystery of dark water is why I chose continuous movements. The first movement is called "The Western Interior Seaway." This is the official name of the prehistoric body of water where many of these fossils have been found. Movement II is titled "Horror Under Water." This is what many paleontologists describe what would have been the normal everyday scene in the murky depths of Kansas. Movement III is called "Bus-length Reptiles and Car-hood Clams." This came from the description of the unfathomable sizes of the creatures. Finally, Movement IV is called "Fossils and Fish-within-a-Fish", named after the very fossil, that lives in our very own Sternberg Museum. 

Here is the link to the article that inspired the work: https://www.kake.com/story/47053820/western-kansas-was-hells-aquarium-80-million-years-ago-heres-what-it-can-teach-us-today 

This exciting programmatic work is great for an upper level high school wind ensemble, or a collegiate level ensemble. Melody is given to vibraphone, woodwinds, and brass alike. Tom toms have a prominent role throughout the piece. This piece features both lyrical and rhythmically complex and intense moments. Enjoy the ride!

Hell's Aquarium

Ensemble

Instrument Family

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This piece was written for a former student who went into music education in college. When I was her teacher in high school, we endured a tragic accident together, and a fellow student named Hope James, passed away. Hope had written out a melody in one of my music classes, and her friend Rebecca had saved it. I wrote this flute quartet with that melody in mind, and Rebecca played this piece on her senior recital.

Votum

Flute Quartet

Immerse in the ethereal beauty of "Romancing the Forgotten; I - The Bells," masterfully composed by Claude Debussy. Makenzi Johnson's exquisite arrangement elevates this piece, making it perfect for concert and contest performances. Experience the poignant melodies that echo the delicacy and depth of forgotten romances. A must-have for refined - Note: This music is composed by humans. No human-written product description is available, limiting search visibility. The AI-assisted description is for reference only.

Romancing the Forgotten; I - The Bells

This piece was commissioned by Dr. Carl Rowles at Kansas Wesleyan University in 2018 for the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment - women's right to vote. It was written for KWU's middle school honor band festival and was premiered in October of 2019, with a program featuring entirely female composers.  The piece was written with melodies from popular music from the 1910's and 1920's - meant to mirror the mood of the time. The melodies were also either written or performed by women. In the beginning, the piece reflects the darkness of the times in that women did not have a voice when it came to politics and many other issues. It travels back and forth between the reality of not having a voice, and the optimism of the possibility of attaining the right to vote. The piece then kicks off a celebratory mood meant to represent the passing of the amendment. And although the passing of the amendment rightly should be celebrated, the end of the piece quotes a bit from the beginning, indicating that although progress had been made, it was only white women that had attained the right to vote; women of color had yet to be included. Progress did not mean the work was done and equality had been attained. The work of the suffragettes will not be forgotten; their legacy will shine on through us.

Shine On

This solo piano piece was written to convey the extreme anxiety that can
  sometimes swirl around in our minds, especially in response to adverse
  events. Moltus Trepidatio is Latin for "much alarm, confusion, or
  terror." Although this was written in 2017, this fits 2020 quite well.

Multus Trepidatio

Piano Solo

<p>This string quartet was inspired by watching my lilac bush come to life after a long and cold winter. They are slow to grow, beautiful and fragrant, but only for a short time. This is written for the standard string quartet of two violins, viola, and cello. This programmatic piece has some exciting twists and turns, proving to be a challenge to play.</p>

Lilacs in Spring

String Quartet

The fifth part in a five part series of Debussy voice and piano
  accompaniments arranged for wind ensemble.

Romancing the Forgotten; V - Romance

The fourth part in a five part series of Debussy voice and piano
  accompaniments arranged for wind ensemble.

Romancing the Forgotten; IV - 'Tis the Languor of all Rapture

The third part in a five part series of Debussy voice and piano accompaniments arranged for wind ensemble.

Romancing the Forgotten; III - The Shadow of Trees

The second part in a five part series of Debussy voice and piano accompaniments arranged for wind ensemble.

Romancing the Forgotten; II - Green

If you are looking for a unique duet, look no further! This duet features the Bb Clarinet and the Bass Trombone together in all of their combined weirdness. I wrote this duet under the idea of doing an impression of my husband Christopher-Michael's composition style. He has a multitude of different ideas, and at the end of the day is almost the complete opposite of my writing style. We offered each other prompts to write music for each other, and his word for me was "quirky". So born was the piece titled "Influence". Featuring wide leaps and atonality, sudden mood changes, and wide ranges, this duet was fun to write and perform!

Influence

Duet

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