New choir teacher invites aspiring singers

When Rick Johnson graduated from high school in Houston, Texas, his choir teacher posed a compelling question: where did he see himself in 10 years? His answer: living in Oregon, married, with children and a dog, inspiring young kids with music.

Johnson doesn't yet have children, nor has he limited himself to one dog.

But according to plan, Johnson takes his place this week as the new choir director for both Sisters High School and Sisters Middle School. In doing so, he's embarking on his second decade of music program development in Central Oregon; he built a solid choir department for Crook County schools and launched the Americana Project there as well.

"I want to build an incredibly powerful and successful choir program here," says Johnson, who accepted the job just 10 days before the school year kicked off in what he calls "an incredibly tough decision."

An avid hiker who calls MacKenzie Pass "the ultimate Eden," Johnson commemorated his decision by immediately climbing Middle Sister.

"When I came down, I felt ready to hit the ground running," he said.

"I've been watching the community of Sisters. I've loved the town," he says. Johnson, whose parents both hail from Oregon, spent summers visiting grandparents in La Pine while growing up.

In high school, Johnson was active in the choir that won the first-ever national competition and was bitten by another bug: musical theater.

At the University of North Texas he majored in operatic theater. After two years he'd had his fill of "portraying slow, extended deaths on stage."

Johnson next moved on to Oklahoma City University; he heard OCU was the "it place" for musical theater.

Indeed, he credits premiere vocal teacher Florence Bidwell with "making me into the performer I am today." Some of Bidwell's famous students include Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O'Hara. Johnson studied alongside both great actresses and was in attendance at the Tony awards when Chenoweth won for her role in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

He played the lead opposite O'Hara in two shows and headed off to New York City as a "triple-threat." That's show business lingo for an actor/singer/dancer.

Immediately, Johnson landed the lead in an off-Broadway production of "Robin Hood," then toured major cities with the show for nine months.

But after three years in New York, Johnson was eager to leave.

"Clearly, I'm not a big-city guy. I'm a nature guy," he says. He spent a week soul-searching on the shores of Walden Pond and realized "I'd been to New York; I'd done it."

Refocused, he headed back to Birdwell's program at OCU and received a master's degree in classical vocal performance. Then he sat down at the computer and typed in "Oregon-Music-Teaching-Job." That led to the Crook County position in 2001.

Johnson developed a strong following for choir at Crook County and directed five high school musicals including "Guys and Dolls" and "South Pacific." After spending the past five years solidifying the Americana Project there with Brad Tisdel of Sisters, it's hard for him to leave.

"I loved the students," says Johnson.

At the same time, he can't wait to dig in to his new role and "to be supported, surrounded by artists and incredible teachers who want to influence kids and make them the best they can be."

Johnson has 150 middle school choir students to meet this week, but only a smattering of high schoolers are signed up for choir. He hopes to inspire more students to add to his class.

"I hear lots of kids say 'I can't sing.' I say 'Let me teach you.' I never force anyone to sing alone unless they want to. That takes the fear out of it."

Johnson touts choir as a way to "learn a skill you'll use for the rest of your life, in whatever capacity you want - whether it's on Broadway, in church or a community chorus."

He plans to lay a stronger foundation for the musical theater program at Sisters High School by "bringing back a strong choir - through choir they'll learn the fundamentals. Then allowing them to apply that to musical theater.

"I'm very impressed with Jody Henderson (band director), Gary Bowne and Kit Stafford (drama/Americana instructors). Collaborations are going to be spectacular."

Johnson also believes choir promotes teamwork, and the value of teamwork is something he knows a bit about. He picked up an unusual hobby, dog sledding, after he realized that his beloved MacKenzie Pass closes in the winter.

A friend took him sledding, then gave him his first dog Cindy, "a magical dog who saved my life several times," he says.

Johnson now has 11 dogs and has won many races. A typical Saturday or Sunday in wintertime finds him out running his dogs from four a.m. until noon, "then I go support whatever art stuff is going on.

"There's something to be said about teamwork. These dogs come from different backgrounds, they don't necessarily like each other, but they get together and do brilliant things," he says.

Johnson plays Seymore in Cat Call Productions' "Little Shop of Horrors" at the Tower Theatre September 17-25. His wife Tara, who he met when they were both college theater students, also has a role. By day she's an auditor for Les Schwab administration in Bend.