Bruce Johnson will be the featured singer at the First Friday Concert Feb. 6, at 12:10 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1000 Michigan Ave., La Porte. He will be singing the music of Hoosier composers. John Gouwens, organist and choirmaster at St. Paul's will accompany him on the piano.
Johnson has been singing as long as he can remember. A La Porte native and graduate of LaPorte High School where he sang in many choirs, Johnson graduated from Ball State and Valparaiso Universities and has completed post-graduate work in Comparative Education, History, and Culture at the Universities of London, Paris, Moscow, and Beijing. He taught at schools in the West Indies and Liberia and eventually for the South Central Community School Corporation for 40 years and was guest lecturer in the Education Department at Purdue North Central for 7 years.
A member of the La Porte Little Theatre Club for 54 years, he has performed in 43 different productions. He also performed for several years with Susie Richter and Rose Marie Dure in “Sentimental Journey," with Robert Dure and Matthew Daniel in “Tenors Three” for 20 years, and has been singing at Bethany Lutheran Church for more than 60 years.
Johnson is currently serving as the official County Historian for La Porte County and serves on numerous boards of directors.
St. Paul's is handicap accessible through the Harrison Street door. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch for the half-hour program. There is no charge, but a free-will offering box is available for donations to continue the series.
