Johnny Rice

A native of Arizona, Johnny Rice is an accomplished performer and teacher on both cello and piano. Mr. Rice, performing in a duo with his brother, Chris, has performed throughout the United States, including in New York City (Carnegie Hall), Chicago, Los Angeles, and numerous cities and towns in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Texas, Idaho, Wyoming, and Alaska. Internationally, he has performed in Warsaw, as a featured artist at the 2014 World Music Day celebration, as well as in Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest, and Munich. Mr. Rice has appeared as soloist with the Scottsdale Symphony, the Mesa Symphony, and the Symphony of the Southwest.

Mr. Rice’s teachers have included Robert Hamilton (Arizona State University), and Taki Atsumi (Arizona State University). He has also studied with and performed for internationally renowned artists including Mstislav Rostropovich, Johannes Kropfitsch, (Vienna Conservatory), Phillip Kawin (Manhattan School of Music), Stefan Wojtas (Kraków Conservatory), Orlando Cole (Curtis Institute of Music), Paul Shi (Shenyang Conservatory), and Eugene Friesen (Berklee School of Music).

Mr. Rice was a Gold Medalist at the 2014 Corpus Christi International Chopin Piano Competition. He has also been awarded an Honorable Mention at the Golden Key Festival International Piano Competition, was a semi-finalist at the Budapest International Chopin Competition, and was a prize winner in numerous state and regional competitions.

In addition to his performing career, Mr. Rice has been teaching piano and cello for more than 15 years, working with students ranging in age from 4 to 81. His students have been awarded top marks in evaluations, competitions, school and regional youth orchestras, as well as in the Arizona Regional and All-State Orchestra Festivals. He frequently presents workshops in schools around the country, emphasizing bringing awareness of classical music to the next generation. He has recently joined the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, one of the Arizona’s premiere youth orchestras. Mr. Rice strives to bring out an enthusiasm for learning in his students, and balances high standards of technique with developing a love of music. He hopes that all of his students will truly enjoy making music with their instruments.