The Johansen International Competition for Young String Players (JIC) was founded by Anna Storch Johansen of Falls Church, Virginia, a Life Member of the Friday Morning Music Club (FMMC). Born into a musical family, Anna Storch began to study piano at an early age and added the violin at age nine. Her father and first violin teacher, Alfons Storch, was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 45 years. His three brothers, also string players, were associated with major symphony orchestras. Anna later studied with Victor Kuzdo, an associate of Leopold Auer, and at the Baltimore Conservatory of Music and the Peabody Institute. She married Gustave N. Johansen in 1929 and continued her musical studies. An FMMC member for more than 50 years, Mrs. Johansen was elected to Life Membership in 1994. She played with the Baltimore Symphony and often performed at FMMC concerts.

Her affection for the Club and her commitment to the encouragement of young musicians was demonstrated in 1990, when she funded the FMMC High School Competition for Strings, open to high school students in the Washington, DC metro area, in memory of her son, Gustave N. Johansen, who was injured as a teenager and died in 1989. This local competition has continued to the present day.

Mrs. Johansen established the JIC in 1997, funding it from the Johansen Trust that she originally established to pay for Gustave’s long-term care. She credited her own experience of winning a competition prize when she was 17 years old with helping her decide to make music a lifelong occupation, and her wish was to encourage new generations of string players in the same way. This is why she and her husband chose to use the money in the Trust to help future generations of teens.

The JIC takes place once every three years. The most recent competition took place in Washington, DC, in March 2022. Though the competition is funded primarily by an annual distribution from the Johansen Charitable Trust, we also rely on the generosity of our friends and supporters. For more information on how to donate, send an email to johansencomp@fmmc.org or see the “donate” page on our website: https://fmmcfoundation.org/support/donate/.

Many volunteers both past and present have contributed to the ongoing success of the JIC, but particular thanks go to the members of the JIC Steering Committee:

Michael Casassa, JIC Chair

Judith Basch Shapiro, JIC Co-founder and Chair Emeritus

Judith Silverman, JIC Chair Emeritus and Volunteer Coordinator

Paul Silverman, Founding Member and Stage Manager

John E. Daniel, Trustee

Ann Franke, Advisor

Eunju Kwak

Connie Milner

Joanna Taylor

Harriet Kaplan serves as JIC Administrative Director.