About
Reuben Johnson is an Australian pianist and organist who has repeatedly proved himself as a versatile and sensitive musician in both collaborative and solo endeavours. Reuben graduated from the Australian National Academy of Music in 2024, studying piano with Timothy Young, and holds a Bachelor of Music from Griffith University, Queensland, from 2021. Reuben has also received mentorship from Paavali Jumppanen and Daniel de Borah.
Reuben is currently the organist at Newman College, Melbourne, where he sees frequent solo appearances on both piano and organ, as well as regular work with the college choir. 2025 has also seen appearances as a Keys 1 player in Melbourne’s production of Footloose the Musical; pianist for the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Summer Season in 2025 and 2026; and performances as an ANAM alum in Pierre Boulez’s Flute Sonatine and Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor.
Reuben is an advocate for Australian Music and has performed and recorded the of works by numerous composers including Roger Smalley, Liza Lim, Paul Dean, Brett Dean and Christopher Wilcock; as well as world premieres of works by Nicole Murphy, Frankie Dyson Reilly, Christopher Sainsbury and Po Goh.
Reuben has consistently won awards from national and international events. These include: winner of the best chamber performance at ANAM in 2024, for Smalley’s Horn Trio with, Maddie Aarons and Liam Pilgrim; The Ursala Hoff award for the best performance of a classical work in an ANAM recital in 2022; and first prize in the university category of the Bolder Bach Festival’s Online Bach Competition 2020, where he was the only Australian prize-winner.
