Celeste Marie Johnson

Pianist Celeste Marie Johnson, described as “eloquent” by the Baltimore Sun, returns as a Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera for the 2021-22 season. Last season, her projects included designing and performing a program for the Apart Together Artist Showcase series and serving as music staff and orchestral pianist for Albert Herring.

Earlier in 2020, Celeste was selected to be a participant in Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall and completed her D.M.A. in collaborative piano at Boston University. In 2018-19, she was a Young Artist with Opera Saratoga, received the Marc and Eva Stern Fellowship at SongFest, and was a faculty coach at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Previously, Celeste has played for productions with the Boston University Opera Institute, Odyssey Opera, Opera Saratoga, Inland Northwest Opera, Atlantic Music Festival, the Hawai’i Performing Arts Festival, and Peabody Opera Theatre. She holds degrees in piano performance from Baylor University (B.M.) and vocal accompanying from The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (M.M.).

Celeste is a native of Rochester, MN, and her first experience of live opera was at Minnesota Opera as an elementary student. She was part of Project Opera during her senior year of high school and was a pianist and coach for Minnesota Opera’s Summer Camps from 2014-2016. She is grateful for all the ways this company has nurtured and supported her love of opera throughout her career.