TEACHING
Classical, Operatic,
Musical Theater,
Rock & Pop Music
Dr. Johnson maintains a very active role as a voice teacher, passionately mentoring, instructing, and promoting singers. His voice studio is based out of San Diego, but he also teaches students around the world via Skype. He teaches voice students who are pursuing or currently engaged in professional careers singing opera, pop, rock, and musical theatre. He has taught at the University of Southern California, Point Loma Nazarene University, Azusa Pacific University, Mt. San Antonio College, and La Sierra University, where he served as Director of Vocal Studies. At Point Loma Nazarene University, he served as the Vocal Studies Director and the faculty adviser and music director/conductor for Point Loma Opera Theatre and the Point Loma Musical Theater Club. Johnson has also taught the summer opera intensive at the nationally recognized San Diego High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and served on the guest faculties of Broadway Dreams Summer Intensives (Los Angeles, Omaha, Sacramento, and Philadelphia), Atlanta's Renaissance International School for Performing Arts, and Opera Academy of California. He is a frequent presenter of masterclasses and workshops nationally.
Dr. Johnson's students have completed apprenticeships and sung roles with Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass, Wolf Trap Opera, San Diego Opera, Aspen Musical Festival Opera, Tanglewood, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Academy of California, and Opera NEO.
Since 2008, his students have garnered seven first place wins and 20 other awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. His students are also frequent winners and grant recipients of auditions sponsored by National Association of Teachers of Singing, Carmel Music Society, Los Angeles Opera Buffs, La Jolla Symphony Young Artists, Musical Merit of San Diego, Virginia Hawk Memorial Scholarship, and others. Johnson's students are engaged as professional singers on the local, regional, national, and international levels and have gone on to study at University of Southern California, Yale, Academy of Vocal Arts, Rice, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, University of Colorado – Boulder, University of North Texas, Manhattan School of Music, California State University – Northridge, University of Kansas, Boston University’s Opera Institute, Carnegie Mellon, and CAP21.