FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/6/2007

Dr. Michael Johnson's Music Featured at Film Festivals

GREENVILLE, ILL. - Dr. Michael Johnson, director of Greenville College's acclaimed Contemporary Christian Music program, recently had three of his original songs featured in the short film Night Becomes Day. The film, written and directed by Jacob Hinmon, was featured at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival in mid-February.

This is the first time Johnson's music has been featured in a film. "It's something I've been trying to break into for a while," he said. The star of the film, Clay McCraw, was a college chum of his. A recent reconnection between the two sparked the collaboration. "[McCraw] knew the director hadn't chosen any music beyond two or three John Vanderslice songs, so he gave him my number," Johnson explained.

With his first foray into film scoring neatly tucked away, Johnson is pursuing additional projects, starting as soon as this summer. He comments, "I'm excited that the film was featured in two festivals. I hope this leads to further opportunities for the director, who I think has great potential!"

Dr. Michael Johnson is an assistant music professor at Greenville College, as well as director of the school's Contemporary Christian Music program. He holds degrees from the University of Miami and the University of Colorado. As a professional musician, Johnson has 15 years experience as a guitarist and singer and ten years as a recording and live sound engineer.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1450 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Illinois, 45 miles east of St. Louis.