Born in 1939 in Colorado, has lived in Paris since 1983. Johnson graduated from Yale University (B.A. und M.Mus) and took private composition lessons from Morton Feldman. In his compositions, he uses reduced musical material (forms that are easy to comprehend, limited scales) that are developed using simple, often mathematical rules (formulas, permutations, sequences).
In addition to operas (The Four Note Opera (1972), Riemannoper (1988) and chamber music (Formulas for String Quartet, Narayanay Kühe, Failing: a very difficult piece for solo string bass), Tom Johnson has also created radio pieces (J'entends un choeur, Radio France, 1993, Music and Questions, CD Australian Broadcasting Company, Die Melodiemaschine, WDR, Köln, 1996). Johnson‘s composition, the two hour Bonhoeffer Oratorium based on texts by the theologist Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was premiered in 1996 in Maastricht. (Deutsche EA: Berlin, 1998).

Cds: Musique pour 88 (XI, 1992), Rational Melodies (Hat Art, 1993), The Chord Catalogue (XI, 1999). The theoretical Self-Similar Melodies was published by "Editions 75" in 1996.