Michael Johnston looks back on life in the TSO
1 December 2025.
After almost 40 years in the TSO’s violin section, Michael Johnston will be hanging up his bow at the end of this year.
His final concert as a musician will be Christmas with the TSO on 6 December.
A stalwart of the orchestra since the late 1980s, Michael has helped shape the sound and spirit of the TSO on and offstage.
As he prepares to retire, we look back on memorable concerts, life on tour and how his musical journey started – in the foothills of the Himalayas!
'Great fun' is how Michael Johnston describes his career with the TSO.
Hi Michael, how would you describe your decades with the TSO?
Great fun – nearly always. There’s something to enjoy about every call, and the things that used to make me intensely anxious don’t worry me nearly as much now.
Our home was the Odeon for years and, when I started, the acoustics were pretty terrible. When we toured to Sydney, playing at the City Recital Hall was like another world. I remember Beethoven’s Seventh there, the excitement in the last movement was almost hysterical and the audience clearly felt it too. We came up from Tassie and made a bit of a mark.
What are some of your highlights since the TSO moved to Federation Concert Hall?
Our 2016 performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde with Nina Stemme is a big one. I also love doing Beethoven with Eivind (TSO Chief Conductor Eivind Aadland) – he has a real knack for bringing out the best in the music.
You also play outside the orchestra. Can you tell us about that?
I enjoyed playing in the Bouzouki Boys, a local Greek band. We played lots of weddings at the Greek Club. I loved the immediate contact with the audience and all the lovely Greek dances.
You’ve done a lot of touring with the orchestra. Any memorable stories from the road?
We travelled quite a bit in the early days. On one tour we went to Darwin and then down to Alice Springs – the musicians were in one small plane and the music and costumes in another.
The second plane was late, so the concert started at 10pm instead of 7pm. The venue put on free champagne and we played quartets in the foyer, so everyone was happy. But by the time we got to the concert, I somehow played four chords instead of three at one point!
We also toured to Japan, Indonesia and South Korea, among many other places.
How did you first come to the violin?
I started at school when I was eight. I grew up in Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills in India, where my parents were teachers at a co-educational boarding school and music was part of school life.
When I moved to Australia, I used my violin to get enough points to get into science at uni, but I soon moved across to the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music.
Michael's enjoyed many memorable tours and concerts with the TSO.
Michael and his colleagues mid-flight during our 6pm Series in 2025.
What were the next steps in your professional training and career before joining the TSO?
I spent time in the ABC National Training Orchestra in Sydney under Robert Miller – he was tough, but that was good for me. After that I had a six-month stint with WASO before joining the Elizabethan Melbourne Orchestra, playing major opera productions in the days of Joan Sutherland.
Will we see you in the audience at the TSO from now on?
I’m not a great audience member – sitting in the hall doesn’t quite compare with being on stage and feeling the music around you.
But I’ve got many grandchildren who are keen to come to concerts, so I’ll have to learn!
Join us for Michael's final concert as a member of the orchestra – Christmas with the TSO on 6 December.
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