Paul Johnston has enjoyed teaching at Eastern since 2004. He directs the Jazz Lab Band, coordinates the combo program, and teaches courses in jazz piano, improvisation, and arranging. Paul remains active as a teacher, performer, and composer.  He is at home in a wide variety of musical styles and has performed with artists including Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Nancy Wilson, Monica Mancini, and Bernadette Peters. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Indiana University, where he earned a Master's Degree in jazz studies, a Performer Diploma in piano, and a Performer’s Certificate.  Soloists, chamber groups, and jazz ensembles from across the country have performed his compositions and arrangements.  Alfred Music has also published several collections of his solo piano arrangements in their Jazz Performer series. Paul served on the summer faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts for over a decade and continues to teach at Eastern's Summer Music Camp. He is an alumnus of Ravinia's Steans Music Institute and the Henry Mancini Institute.