Norman E. Johns.
In Wednesday’s (8/6) Strad (U.K.), an unbylined article reports, “The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has announced the death of a former member, cellist Norman E. Johns, after a two-year battle with cancer. Johns joined the orchestra in 1975 and was recognized as the CSO’s longest-serving African American musician, only retiring from his position as assistant principal cellist earlier this year. Johns was born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Philadelphia Musical Academy and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Montreux, Switzerland. Johns helped to establish the Norman E. Johns chair award in 1995, offering scholarship support to musicians from underrepresented backgrounds in the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra program, and also mentored pre-professional musicians through the CSO’s diversity fellowship program in partnership with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. When asked how the orchestra could make the world a better place, he once [stated]: ‘Continued progress is dependent upon continued embrace of our diversity… of performers, composers, audience, and support personnel. Our diversity in these areas gives credibility to our capacity to enlighten the community at large.’ In 2023, Johns received the Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize for his artistic accomplishments and contributions to the cultural life of the Cincinnati region.”
