OLEAN — Bobby Johnston, an Olean High School alum who is a film composer, multi-instrumentalist and author, is the latest inductee to the OHS Fine Arts Wall of Fame.

The Olean Music Boosters inducted Johnston, Class of 1985, into the wall of fame June 11.

Johnston is a Los Angeles-based composer with credits that include original film scores for directors Stuart Gordon, Larry Clark, Charlie Kaufman, Lee Shallat-Chemel, Drake Doremus, Laura Gabbert and Darren Lynn Bousman.

Johnston has had over a dozen of his original scores released by various record labels. In 2016, his score to the documentary “City of Gold” (Lakeshore Records) was placed on several best of lists, including Apple/iTunes’ list of the 25 best soundtrack albums of the year (No. 13) and Nylon Magazine’s list of the 8 Best Movie Scores of the Year.

He has composed original music for film, television, commercials, museum exhibits, major theme parks and the San Diego Zoo. His music has also been featured extensively on the national radio program “This American Life”.

Johnston has composed the original scores to four films that had their world premieres at the Sundance Film Festival and was a featured performer at ASCAP’s Sundance Music Café in 2006.

His recent credits include the award-winning documentaries “Bleed Out” (HBO) and “Shopping Cart People,” which garnered many festival awards for his original score.

Johnston’s first book, “The Saint I Ain’t,” was published by Fomite Press in 2021. It was called “a moving and finely crafted work of literary art” by Pulitzer Prize-winner Héctor Tobar.

Johnston’s nominator, Laurie Marsfelder, said, “Over the years, I have watched Bobby develop his remarkable music and artistic talents, while persevering through numerous challenges to establish himself as an award-winning LA-based film composer, multi-instrumentalist, author and screenwriter.”

Johnston said all the young musicians in attendance are fortunate to have music in their lives

“Most of you are at the stage where you’ve already put in the hardest work — establishing the habits and discipline you’ll need to navigate your musical development, as well as so many other aspects of your lives,” he said. “What a gift to yourself and to the world.”

Johnston encouraged the students to be open and active about the ways that they can keep music present in their future, whether it be professionally or personally. When he left Olean in 1985, Johnston said his only dream was of becoming a singer-songwriter — the next Bob Dylan or Neil Young.

“But the universe laid out a different, circuitous path for me, which turned out to be, in my opinion, my destiny,” he said. “I’m so grateful that I was given the wisdom to recognize it when it came my way.”

But this path didn’t unfold neatly or all at once, Johnston said. It involved exploring options and opportunities in music, even if they didn’t seem to align with his plan.

“What I’m saying is, no matter where your journey takes you, I wish for you to find ways to make music a meaningful part of it, because it will enhance and enrich every area of your lives,” he added. “Strive to make this a reality because if there is one thing I know about the hard work that is put into music, is that it will pay you back tenfold.”