Celebrated for his warm stage presence, compelling musical personality, and provocative repertoire choices, Canadian pianist Carter Johnson is known for making classical music speak to all kinds of audiences. With playing described as ”sincere, communicative, and intelligent”, “drop-dead gorgeous”, and even “the greatest thing since sliced bread” (Gramophone), Johnson’s competition laurels include being a finalist in the 2025 Van Cliburn International Competition (the first Canadian in history to do so), the first prize winner of the 2025 Dublin International Competition, and the silver medalist in the 2024 Gina Bachauer International Competition. First prizes in other international competitions include the 2023 Concours Hauts-de-France, the 2021 International Competition of Polish Music, the 2020 Valsesia International Competition, the 2024 Heida Hermanns International Competition and the 2023 Weatherford College International Competition.

Other awards include the prize for the most promising pianist not proceeding to the final in the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition, a finalist prize in the 2023 Walter Naumburg Competition, the best performance of the commissioned work in the 2024 Gina Bachauer Competition, and the best chamber music performance in the 2025 Dublin Competition. Johnson rose to prominence in his home country when in 2018 he was declared the winner of two of Canada’s most important national competitions, garnering both the grand prize in the OSM Competition and the first prize in the CMC Stepping Stone competition.