JOHNS, Altona Trent

Altona Trent Johns was an African American composer, pianist, organist, author, and music educator. Educated at Atlanta University (B.A.) and Columbia University Teachers College (M.A.), she pursued advanced musical studies at the Juilliard School and the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout her distinguished academic career, Johns served on the music faculties of several prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Spelman College, Bennett College, Winston-Salem State University, and Virginia State University, where she chaired the department of music.

As a composer and musicologist, Johns was dedicated to preserving and elevating African American musical heritage. Her creative output includes sacred choral works, arrangements of Spirituals, and piano compositions. She also authored Play Songs of the Deep South (1944), a pioneering collection documenting children's folk games, songs, and cultural traditions from the American South.