The First Friday concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1000 Michigan Ave., La Porte, will be April 4 at 12:10 p.m. for half an hour. The performer will be Bruce Johnson, singing his greatest hits from La Porte Little Theatre.
Johnson has been singing as long as he can remember. Both his parents' families were singers in church choirs and other musical groups for generations. Johnson is a La Porte native and graduate of LaPorte High School where he sang in A Capella, Swing Choir, and performed in “The Music Man” his Senior year under the direction of his mentor, Eddie Burk.
Johnson graduated from Ball State and Valparaiso Universities and completed post-graduate work in Comparative Education, History, and Culture at the Universities of London, Paris, Mosco, and Beijing. He taught at schools in the West Indies and Liberia and eventually for the South Central Community School Corporation for 40 years. He was guest lecturer in the Education Department at Purdue North Central for 7 years
Johnson has been a member of the La Porte Little Theatre Club for 53 years and performed in 43 different productions. He also performed for several years with Susie Richter and Rose Marie Dure in “Sentimental Journey” and 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 County Historian for La Porte County and serves on numerous boards of directors.
The concert is without charge, but a free-will offering box is available to help continue th.e series. People are encouraged to bring their lunches. The church is handicap-accessible from the Harrison Street entrance.