Johanson's works have won major awards from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival and School, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, UCLA and The Esztergom International Guitar Festival.
Johanson studied composition with Charles Jones and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom.
Johanson studied with the likes of Christopher Parkening, Alirio Diaz, and Michael Lorimer.
He has performed with orchestras, chamber music groups, choirs, and in solo recitals throughout the United States and Canada.
In 2010, Johanson became a member of the Oregon Guitar Quartet, a group for which he has created numerous original compositions and arrangements.