A Tribute to BCM Trustee Gary Johnston

Our hearts are broken at Behringer-Crawford Museum as we mourn the sudden death of colleague, teacher, mentor, friend and member of our museum family, Gary Johnston.

A retired Associate Professor of Music at Northern Kentucky University (36-year term), Gary introduced countless students to the sounds of musical excellence by some of the greatest composers of all time. His innate musicality from being a talented trombonist, composer and orchestra director and his passion and enthusiasm for teaching had a profound and lasting impact on his students. He brought out the very best in every musician who performed under his direction.

His musical accomplishments alone would merit a tuneful tribute, however he pursued greatness with all of his passions, including Behringer-Crawford Museum. For nearly 20 years, he was an integral part of the museum as a Trustee and past president and one of BCM's biggest supporters. He spent innumerable hours as a community liaison, raising capital expansion funding and leading the museum into a stronger institution contributing to our state and local history.

Through his outstanding leadership and drive for success, he has left lasting marks on BCM, from  redesigning and upgrading the computer systems to ensuring quality performances throughout the Music@BCM concert series. He had a knack for finding artists in the park and photographing their creations and coaxing a smile or two for freshART. He also used his eagle eye to document our growth and exhibitions in photographs.

As a patriarch of our museum family, Gary passionately shared his love of his family, history, amateur radio, aviation and Apple products through stories and words of wisdom.

We now must adjust to a museum world without Gary Johnston; a world without radio checks, stories of "The Woz" sleeping on his couch, his excellent editing skills and so much more. His legacy will go on and he will hold a special place in all of our hearts.

From all of us at BCM, Thank you, Gary.

An exhibit in his honor and the 2022 Music@BCM concert series will be dedicated to Gary Johnston. More details to come soon.