This new release is a rousing program of patriotic works for piano by John Philip Sousa, James Hewitt, Charles Grob, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and more. Kirsten Johnson was born in America, but has lived in the United Kingdom since 1994. While she is now a dual-national, she remains very proud of her American heritage and roots. Recording this album was a very important task for her, and one that she did not take lightly. A multi-instrumentalist, she began on piano and recorder, then added clarinet, organ, and harpsichord to her arsenal. A mentor once told her, “You’re a musician first and a pianist second,” a mantra by which she has lived out her professional career.