“The tunes turn out to be as impeccable as her credentials. She is already being hailed as the next Enya” – Hot Press Magazine
“Victoria has a musical gift that comes straight from the heart” – Daniel O’Donnell
Victoria Johnston is an independent artist and a 2021 Grammy shortlisted singer, songwriter and award-winning composer from Dublin, Ireland. Victoria Johnston is an independent and self-managed artist.
Victoria began her classical music training at the age of 9 at the Royal Irish Academy of Music where she received an entrance scholarship and subsequent annual scholarships until she was 18.
Victoria Johnston then continued her classical music training in college at the TUD Conservatoire in Dublin and holds a BMus in Composition (1.1), and an MPhil in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship from Trinity College Dublin.
Following her graduation from college Victoria Johnston won the Young Composers Competition at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival for her string quartet composition titled ‘Transience’ and also gained singing experience with several of Ireland’s leading and award-winning chamber choirs.
Victoria Johnston launched her solo music career in March 2020 with the release of her Debut Singles ‘Tar Liom’ and ‘You Are The Peace’.
The lyrics and music for both singles were composed by Victoria Johnston and were recorded and produced by Grammy nominated producer Denis Woods.
‘Tar Liom’ and ‘You Are The Peace’ both reached #1 in the overall Top 10 iTunes charts in Ireland, and both original songs were shortlisted for the 63rd GRAMMY Awards (2021). ‘Tar Liom’ was shortlisted for ‘Song of the Year’, alongside nominated artists including Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. ‘You Are The Peace’ was shortlisted for both ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Contemporary Christian Music Song of the Year’ alongside artists including Dolly Parton and Tauren Wells.
Victoria released her third debut single ‘Land of Hope’ on Friday 9th October 2020.
‘Land of Hope’ was co-produced by Grammy nominated Producer Denis Woods (Clannad, Enya, AC/DC), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street, Vikings), and multi-instrumentalist Oisín Walsh-Peelo/O Deer (Hudson Taylor, and also support act for Hozier on his US tour).
In 2021 Victoria released a cover single of ‘From A Distance’. With From A Distance being a smash hit for both Nanci Griffith (1987) and Bette Midler (1990), Victoria teamed up with Billy Farrell (Producer for The Corrs, Brian Kennedy) who arranged and produced this single.
Victoria’s music has received Irish radio airplay with stations including BBC Radio Ulster, RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ RnaG, RTÉ Lyric FM, Spin South West, Galway Bay FM, Spirit Radio, KCLR radio and East Coast FM.
Recent interviews and features with Irish press include Irish Tatler, RSVP magazine, Irish Daily Star, The Sunday World, RTÉ Entertainment, Woman’s Way, Irish World newspaper and Hot Press Magazine.
On launching her solo career in 2020, Hotpress Magazine double-featured Victoria Johnston as ‘New Artist’ and ‘New Music’ to watch for in 2020.
In 2022 Victoria partnered with Irish charity Fields of Life to create and fundraise for a pilot music education programme initiative called ‘Music for Life’ for 2 Fields of Life schools in Uganda. The fundraiser and pilot programme was for the procurement of music instruments and a music education programme. The fundraiser is complete and the roll out of this programme is currently taking place.
Victoria Johnston is also the founding member of the Irish group Celtic Calling. Celtic Calling officially launched in the summer of 2022 and since then have had a #1 iTunes Ireland single with their interpretation of the Irish celtic classic ‘The Parting Glass’, and their concert performances to date include sold-out shows in Ireland and London.
