Meet Seth Johnson of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Johnson.

Hi Seth, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Music was always going to be a part of my life. My mother was and is a music educator, most frequently working with K-8th grade general music classes or accompanying ensembles on piano. While she never directly acted as my private voice or piano teacher (opting to help me find other lesson instructors in both), she definitely inspired me through her work with numerous school and community music ensembles.

In high school, I ended up getting involved (hesitantly at first) with so many extracurricular musical ensembles. From regular band and choir classes to local community stages and instrumental pits to state honor choirs and nationally-competitive show choirs, I got a broad experience in music in voice, piano, and oboe. Entering college, I had to make some decisions—something I was not very good at as an 18-year-old. Not only did I have to choose an area of music in which to major, I had to select one major instrument between voice, piano, and oboe! While I ultimately couldn’t decide on a major before freshman year (initially opting for a dual focus in General Music studies and Actuarial Science), I did decide on voice as my primary instrument. I struggled through a lot of decisions and my studies overall during my undergraduate work, but I did ultimately graduate with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. Degree in hand, I thought I would be turning my back on education for a long while.

Shortly after graduating, I moved to Ohio to be with my then-long-distance girlfriend and help support her as she attained her master’s degree. She had decided to attend Bowling Green State University for a number of reasons, one being that we would be in closer proximity to more professional opera and classical music organizations (Toledo Opera, Toledo Symphony, then-Michigan Opera Theater to name a few) than some of her other choices. I took on a full-time job at Wood Lane Residential Services as a 9-to-5 and got to work auditioning and performing as my 5-9. I wanted to see if I struggled in the professional music world the same way that I had in my studies. Instead, I began to thrive!

Since moving to Ohio, I have been fortunate enough to work with a broad array of stellar professional organizations. First came Ohio Light Opera, then Toledo Opera, then Michigan Opera Theater; I began regularly performing with opera companies over the next few years, accruing several small- and medium-sized roles on my resume. Not only that, I have found a love for education I never thought I would find! After a long-term performance contract tore me away from Wood Lane, I began teaching as a short-term substitute with Rachel Wixey & Associates and teaching private voice and piano lessons through Forte Music School. Just three years outside of my undergraduate, I found I was able to support myself primarily through performance and music education!

After finding both success and joy in working as a teaching artist, I decided to go back to school at University of Toledo to get a master’s degree in music performance from 2019-2021. I was both incredibly lucky and unlucky in that timing, as COVID threw everything into chaos during that time. I was fortunate that I had mostly put a pause on professional performance at that time, but it also impacted my studies and educational performance opportunities at that time. While my graduate recital was ultimately performed for a room of roughly ten audience members all separated and in masks, the music department worked hard to provide as much opportunity for me as they could. I ended up helping in the instruction of about eight different courses as a graduate teaching assistant.

Since graduation, I have expanded and continue to expand my reach in the area. Shortly after graduation, I began teaching at Owens Community College, where I still teach voice lessons and lecture courses today. I also now teach at both Toledo School for the Arts as a voice lesson instructor and Children’s Theater Workshop as a musical theater teacher. On the performance side, I have continued working with both Toledo Opera and Detroit Opera (formerly Michigan Opera Theater) and have expanded to working with other companies like South Bend Lyric Opera, Bellissima Opera of Chicago, Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony (a part of Live Arts Toledo), and Opera de Metro.

Most recently, I have been reaching into the local musical theater scene in Toledo, as community theater is a large part of how I first found my joy in music-making. I have been able to perform in hilarious shows at wonderful companies like “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” (playing Paul) and “The Wedding Singer” (playing Sammy) at the Village Players or Cinderella (playing keyboard) at Swanton High School. Not only that, I have discovered a new joy and way to further art in the area through serving as music director and conductor. Children’s Theater Workshop gave me my first opportunity this past December with “Urinetown.” I have just recently wrapped my second and third productions as music director with CTW’s “The Lightning Thief” and the Northwest Ohio Theater Educators Network’s production of “Come From Away,” and show number four (CTW’s upcoming production of “Alice by Heart”) is on the horizon!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My largest struggles were definitely during my undergraduate. I was navigating an academic world I (at the time) did not fully know how to engage with while my home life was not the greatest. I had not cut them out entirely, but I had definitely backed away considerably from interacting with my family, as our relationships with each other were far more contentious than they are today. This dramatically reduced support system coupled with my then undiagnosed ADHD ultimately led me to failing or withdrawing from a majority of my classes freshman year. I did only slightly better during my sophomore year, which led to my sophomore barrier meeting being a real “come-to-Jesus” moment with most of the music college’s faculty. With guidance from my voice instructor at the time, Dr. Kerry Walters, I worked to apply myself more in and out of college. Ultimately, this led to my enrollment in the International Music Festival of the Adriatic, a continued education and performance festival for singers, orchestral musicians, and composers, where I met the woman who would become my wife. Through my renewed efforts, guidance from professors, and support from my friends and fraternity, I was able to raise my GPA from a 1.7 and academic probation to a 3.0 and graduation.

During a summer performance contract just after graduation, my mother let me know that she had made arrangements to divorce my father. My mother moved across the country to Texas, while my father stayed home in Illinois. My sister and I began to talk more and more, helping each other process through this massive shift in family dynamic and leading to a much stronger bond with each other than we had had growing up. My mother and father now lead very separate and different lives, but we all have worked to rebuild our familial bond. Both parents even helped with and attended my wedding in 2024.

The one ever-present obstacle I continue to struggle with is my ADHD. I was only officially diagnosed last year, so figuring out which of my less than helpful habits are actually symptoms and how to correct those has been a challenge. Medication has helped, but I clearly still have quite a way to go, as several recent collaborators and friends have (lovingly) pointed out just how clear to them my ADHD shines through in our interactions.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My academic expertise is in music performance, specifically in Classical vocal music. Opera, oratorio, and concert works are the sorts of things I studied and performed exclusively in my undergraduate and graduate work. Now, I consider myself a teaching artist—someone who devotes themselves to both the creation of and instruction of others in an art form.

On the performance side, my resume’s longest section is my operatic roles. I have performed as lead roles or larger side characters in numerous productions with South Bend Lyric Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Toledo Opera, and Detroit Opera over the years. I even had the opportunity to debut the lead in a world premiere of a new opera, Our American Odyssey, in which I played Odysseus! I have also sung for many concerts with large and small ensembles ranging from Dearborn Symphony Orchestra and Toledo Symphony to the Ann Arbor Festival of Song and the NW Ohio Low Brass Collective.

On the teaching side, I have had the opportunity to work with numerous organizations in a variety of capacities. My most frequent work has been as a private voice and piano teacher, teaching at places like Forte Music School, Owens Community College, Toledo School for the Arts, University of Toledo as a graduate assistant, and through my own independent work with area singers. I also serve as lecturer for a few classes at Owens Community College and for the musical theater classes for middle- and high-school students at Children’s Theater Workshop. Most recently, I have joined CTW’s committee for the selection of repertoire for future seasons.

I have also recently been able to combine these two skillsets together through music direction of community productions of musical theater. Getting to work with local singers and musicians, analyzing full scores of popular theatrical works, helping shape every musical aspect of a show from pre-production planning through the final curtain of closing performance has been an absolute thrill this past year. I am hopeful that word of the work I am doing now continues to spread through NW Ohio so that I can get to work with more theaters, more local musicians, and help create more art in this area that is so rich in community organization and talent!

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
As I have many facets to my career, I have many ways that I can collaborate with others! Since so much of my work is at the local level, I admit a lot of my work comes from word-of-mouth—my social media skills are unfortunately lacking. For those who want to reach out to me, email is absolutely the best first point of contact with me. My website is also a good channel to go through, though it reflects the teacher side of me far more than it does my performance or music direction. Any school, music educational program, theater, or even school theater program director can reach out to me should they need an instructor, lecturer, performer, or music director.

Pricing:

• Private lessons are $35 for 30 minutes or $60 for an hour.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sethjohnsonmusicstudio.com