Composing Experience
Ms. Johansen-Werner has composed over 140 works including some forty for choir, sixteen for organ, a dozen vocal solos, numerous hymns and liturgical works, and several works for other instruments. Most of these are in her private library. A list of works is available on this web site.
Her formal training in composition includes a Master of Church Music with emphasis in Liturgical Composition degree from Concordia University in 1994, where she studied with Richard Hillert and Carl Schalk. She is also a Melodious Accord Composer Fellow, studying with Alice Parker in the fall of 2002.
Alice Parker and Bonnie
The organ works range from easy to moderately difficult and are composed for initial use by Bonnie and her husband, Duane Werner. "Variations on 'Antioch' (Joy to the World)," "Variations on 'Holy Manna,'" and "Variations on 'Nun Danket'" were composed explicitly for publication by Darcey Press in the "Musical Gifts" series. 120 More Musical Gifts (PDF) "Variations on 'Veni Creator Spiritus'" was premiered at the 2006 spring concert of the Chicago Bronze Handbell Choir at Grace United Methodist Church in Naperville, Illinois. "Variations on 'God Says,'" a tune by Mary Bittner (with permission from Wayne Leupold) was premiered in the spring of 2007 at St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Downers Grove, IL. The "Pentatonic Trumpet Voluntary" has been played at numerous churches throughout the Chicago area and beyond. "Vignettes on 'Stuttgart'" premiered in November of 2007 with Linda Sharp at the organ. It was composed to honor the baptism of Bonnie's second grandchild, Matthew Wesley Johansen.
Linda Sharp, organist with composer Bonnie Johansen-Werner
Bonnie with grandchildren Victoria and Matthew
Ms. Johansen-Werner has composed a significant collection of hymn intonations for organ on traditional Protestant hymnody. These works remain in manuscript form and will be available at a later date.
Instrumental works include "Trumpet Tune on 'God of Grace and God of Glory'" for trumpet and organ, which was premiered by Mark Roller in the fall of 2006 at Grace UMC Naperville. "Fantasia on 'Holy, Holy, Holy'" for flute and piano or handbells was written for the 80th birthday of the composer's mother and premiered by Ann Huntoon at the Church of the Intercession in Stevens Point, Wisconsin in the summer of 2007. These instrumental works call for accomplished performers.
Choral works have been commissioned and performed by a variety of choirs and cover a wide range of style, scope, and difficulty level. Significant works include "Festival Psalm 150" commissioned by First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, Iowa to celebrate the Centennial of their building in 2007.
Festival Psalm 150 at FUMC, Iowa City
Festival Psalm 150: Duane Werner; Bonnie Johansen-Werner, composer; Rebekah Ahrens, dancer; Rev. Paul Akins, Pastor; Samuel Kwok, Director of Music
Rebekah Ahrens and Bonnie at Festival Psalm 150 premiere
"Festival Magnificat" was commissioned by the Choral Department of First United Methodist Church, Decorah, Iowa in loving memory of Phyllis Willer. The 2005 premier performance was conducted by Weston Noble, longtime director of the Luther College Nordic Choir. 
Magnificat premier. Weston Noble conducting at Decorah United Methodist Church; Beth Willer, trumpet
Soloist, Magnificat
Family of Phyllis Willer at Magnificat premier
"Lord, I Will Exalt Thy Grace" was commissioned by Duane Werner in appreciation to Grace United Methodist Church (Decatur, Illinois) for the shared experience of 30 years of music ministry. It was premiered under his direction in 1995 at Grace Church, Decatur. An SATB anthem for choir, organ and handbells, "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled," was dedicated in memory of Helen I. Post, faithful member of St. John United Church of Christ, Lincoln, Illinois and first performed at that church in 2003.
Ms. Johansen-Werner with Bill Post, Helen Beccue, and Hank Post
"I Lift Up Mine Eyes," a setting of Psalm 121, was commissioned by the Manchester (Iowa) United Methodist Church to celebrate 25 years of ministry of Reverend David Wagner. "Death Be Not Proud," on a poem by John Donne, was first performed by the Simpson (Iowa) College Choir at "An Indianola Festival of New Music," sponsored by the Iowa Composers Forum, in 2005.
Additional choral works were composed for choir tours or madrigal dinners under the direction of Ms. Johansen-Werner when she was on the music faculty of Upper Iowa University. Tour works include an a cappella SSA setting (with optional flute) of "Amazing Grace" and a vocal jazz arrangement of J. S. Bach's "Minuet in G," both performed in several concerts in Bulgaria in 2002. 
Musici Sine Nomine and Accents sample the acoustics in a 1st century amphitheatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 2002
Accents singing 'Amazing Grace' in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
"A Remembrance," a memorial piece, was performed by the Concert Choir on their midwest tour in 2001. Another vocal jazz piece, "An Iowa Invention" was performed in The Bahamas by the Accents vocal jazz ensemble in 2001.
A cappella madrigal works, some of which are useful as sacred music for worship, include "Coventry Carol," "Lo, How a Rose," "Sing We Now of Christmas," "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice," and "He is Born." Another madrigal, "Elizabethan Banquet Chant and Madrigal," enumerates the "rules" for proper behavior at an Elizabethan Banquet in 16th century musical style. 
Musici Sine Nomine performs madrigals at Edgewood Festival of Trees
In addition to performances in madrigal dinners, several of these works were performed by Acappellago in 2005 in their Christmas Concerts as well as at Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) and MusiCircus at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
"Wit and Wisdom," a madrigal-like set of five pieces on medieval sayings, was premiered by the Dubuque Chorale at the 2003 Iowa Composers Forum Fall Festival in Dubuque, Iowa.
Liturgical works include introits and benediction responses as well as music for morning, noonday, and evening prayer services. "Music for Evening Prayer" has been celebrated in Decatur, Illinois. Midday Prayer was celebrated in Houston at a convocation of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts in 1997. Morning Prayer was celebrated in January, 1996 at the Upper Room Chapel in Nashville 
Upper Room Chapel, Nashville, TN
and in later that year in Indianapolis at another convocation of The Fellowship. The "Prayers of the People" from these services is published in "The Faith We Sing" by The United Methodist Publishing House. Another popular liturgical work is a "Magnificat" for cantor and congregation that has been performed throughout the midwest and in Canada. The refrain from this work later formed the basis for the "Festival Magnificat." Bonnie has also written liturgical settings for baptism and Eucharist.
Hymn tunes for existing texts comprise another body of Ms. Johansen-Werner's output. A number of new tunes have been written for texts by Charles and John Wesley, for texts from Sternhold and Hopkins The Whole Booke of Psalms, and for some other familiar texts from the Protestant repertory. Take All the Power of Sin Away (Wesley text) Wesley hymn settings include texts that are rarely sung today such as the Good Friday text "My God, My God!" (tune: Woodbine) from Select Hymns by Charles and John Wesley, the Advent text "O How Overjoyed Was I" (tune: Ilia) from Charles Wesley's Select Psalms, and "Lord, Give thy Judgments" (Tune: Osborne). An introduction to some of the Wesley texts can be found at http://gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/hymns/hcredit.html.
Modern hymntunes using texts from Sternhold and Hopkins Whole Booke of Psalms include "O Lord, Upon Thee Do I call" (tune: Edgar) for general usage and the Epiphany hymn "Lord, Give Thy Judgments," both texts from Sternhold and Hopkins The Whole Booke of Psalms. Psalm 122 - O How Overjoyed Was I (Sternhold and Hopkins-new tune)
Additional hymns by Ms. Johansen-Werner are new tunes for extremely well known texts. These works include "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (tune: Stapleton) for Advent and "Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire" (tune: Young Park) for Pentecost. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (new tune)
Vocal solos generally focus on sacred themes for concert settings. "Five Rossetti Miniatures" was performed by Clarice Hearne of the University of St. Francis with the composer at the piano in 2005 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. A second performance occurred in the fall of 2007 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, by Ann Cravero, Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at Drake, assisted by Bruce Perry at the piano. 
Drake University Recital, 2007: Bonnie Johansen-Werner, composer, with Ann Cravero, mezzo-soprano
Bonnie speaking at Drake University pre-recital lecture
"Despised and Rejected" with text by Christina Rossetti is awaiting it's first performance. "Peace Will Come" with text by Wilmette poet Michel Agriopoulos was recently completed and is also awaiting it's first performance.
A small number of piano duets and trios have been composed in recent years for Ms. Johansen-Werner's keyboard students. Such pieces include the trio "Three on a Farm" based on Old McDonald, and a number of Christmas arrangements, "Deck the Hall," "Joy to the World," and "Silent Night," among others. These pieces are for mixed difficulty levels, being arranged for siblings or parent/child ensembles of varying ability levels. 
Beth and Meg Spesia rehearse 'Three on a Farm' piano trio in rehearsal with Ms. Johansen-Werner