HE PRESIDENT of Corpus Christi Watershed recently interviewed DR. JOHN PAUL JOHNSON, a frequent guest conductor at Carnegie Hall in New York City. His choirs have sung across the globe, on national television, and on public radio. Dr. Johnson has served as conductor-in-residence at the Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw) and Trinity College of Music (London). He replaced SIMON CARRINGTON as director of choral activities at the University of Kansas,1 simultaneously serving as director of graduate studies. He has been chosen as guest conductor, clinician, or adjudicator for more than 700 festivals and workshops worldwide.
Pro Tip • The story told by Dr. Johnson vis-à-vis the first time he conducted at CARNEGIE HALL is not to be missed. It begins around the 18:20 marker:
Here’s the direct URL link.
Some Topics Broached:
(1) A particular conductor who’s a terrible singer
(2) Rehearsing without a piano
(3) “Audiation” for students going to a competition
(4) Dr. Johnson’s his first time conducting in Carnegie Hall
(5) Throwing a music stand through a wall
(6) Score-study after retirement (“learning music you’ll never conduct”)
(7) Those who get “sucked in” when nobody else will conduct
(8) Singers who skip rehearsal
(9) Fundraising
(10) Whether conducting is “the easiest thing in the world”
(11) Taking advice about one’s own conducting
(12) Learning from someone you trust
(13) When you hate your own voice
(14) Doing things you warn your students not to do
(15) When you hear individuals singing instead of choral sound
(16) Wowels not lining up
(17) The “waxed pear” trick
(18) Are you “convinced” when you hear a performance?
(19) The four “main things” for a choral director
(20) Dr. Johnson—like Jeff Ostrowski—has the singers themselves reflect on what they’re hearing
(21) How to “match” vowels on extremely polyphonic music
(22) Lifting the soft palette
(23) Common problems that plague students emerging from a conservatory
(24) The importance of appraising correctly a choir you’re choosing repertoire for
(25) “Tricking” choirs into singing high notes
(26) Tips on choosing repertoire from J.W. Pepper online
(27) Which classes you must not skip at college
(28) Being aware of what you don’t know
(29) Pieces every choral conductor should know
(30) The value of Renaissance choral music
(31) One of Dr. Johnson’s most cherished conversations
(32) Story about a broken pipe organ
(33) Swedish “holler” song
(34) Different “continuo” instruments
(35) Performing at Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
(36) Why it’s hard to get standing ovation in Lawrence, KS
(37) The Duruflé Requiem
(38) Conducting the “Duruflé Requiem” at Carnegie Hall
1 Dr. Johnson also held distinguished teaching positions at Texas State University and Wichita State University.
