Bill Johnson

General Manager
WRTI, Philadelphia

Bill Johnson currently serves as general manager of WRTI, Philadelphia’s classical music and jazz station.  Prior to that he was station manager and comes from a fundraising background in higher education.

He believes music is an excellent model for social change and has an intense interest in exploring the complex issues associated with keeping jazz and classical music financially viable, as well as present and relevant in the lives of listeners daily. Bill currently serves on the board of the International Society for Improvised Music (ISIM) which promotes performance, education, and research in improvised music, and explores connections between musical improvisation and creativity across fields.  He is also a board member of Interdisciplinary Artists Aggregation, and has served on the board of the African-American Jazz Caucus.

Bill has played trumpet for over 40 years and currently performs with Karlton Hester as part of the contemporary interdisciplinary improvisational group Hesterian Musicism.

He holds a B.S. in Policy Analysis from Cornell University and resides in Glen Mills, PA in a farmhouse with his wife, daughter, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and occasional raccoon.