William Johnson b. 16th December 1938 d.6th October 2019. A fine organ builder.
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Can you tell us more about him, bach? Maybe his life and work? -
From the 1960's onwards, Bill Johnson was a familiar figure in and around Cambridge. Many of the city's church and college organs were in the care of E J Johnson & Son and their chamber organs, for sale and hire, were also in demand. Further afield, the organ for Malmesbury Abbey was well received and his voicing of the rebuilt Milton organ at Tewkesbury for Ken Jones drew much praise. In later years the firm relocated to Norfolk, maintaining a full order book for new instruments and historic renovations together with a tuning round across East Anglia, London and the Home Counties. Until 2010, against all odds, he kept the Nicholson organ at Bury St Eds Cathedral in service and more recently, relocated the large 3 manual Binns from Leeds to Eye in Suffolk. In his late seventies he was still scaling the heights of the most inaccessible organ lofts and though sadly diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, continued to work when able. At the console he was a gifted improviser and could make any organ sound better than it deserved - a useful skill in an organ builder. Johnsons will continue but this kind and generous craftsman will be greatly missed.Comment
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