Steve Johnson

A native of Herndon, Virginia, Steve first came to Rochester as a student at the Eastman School of Music. He has loved classical music and public media since his youth, when he was inspired by the radio broadcasts of Rob Kapilow on his local NPR affiliate. He pursued this love through college, having earned his Bachelor's in Music Education and Master's in Musicology at Indiana University and, most recently, his Ph.D. in Musicology at Eastman. His Alfred Mann Award-winning dissertation discussed the relationship between nationalist politics and opera in North Korea.

Steve has advocated for classical music on social media for years. He got his start on YouTube with his award-winning webseries The Listener's Guide and collaborated with the Dallas Opera on their series Opera in Brief that gave synopses of their productions through humorous stick-figure sketches. Now, he is active on TikTok and Instagram promoting WXXI programming every day—be sure to follow him for all the latest content!

When he's not in the studio, Steve loves playing board games, gardening, and keeping fit, and he's always looking for his next new fascination here in Rochester!