Commencement Spotlight: Lorenzo Johnson Jr.

I'm really excited about it actually! I think that it's a very big honor to do something like this. I've done a lot of performing...but, to get to perform for my own graduation and get to sit on stage and be a part of the ceremony...it's really meaningful to me. My family is excited to see it.

Since I've been here, I've done a lot of church singing. I sing a lot at Trinity Episcopal Church---I'm really close to the music director there. A lot of the times I'm singing my own spirituals because I specialize in Negro spirituals---it's getting to share that music with the congregation...they always enjoy it. And I try to bring something different every time. So I think those are probably my favorite performances since I've been here. 

I have been singing since I got into college, so it's about 12 years now...so I guess I've been training for 12 years. I've been singing since I was a kid---I just didn't always have that refinement growing up. So I've been professionally singing or training to sing for about 12 years now.

For me, it's a milestone. I had a goal for myself, which was to become a doctor before 30. And I will graduate at 29. I've been in school for a very long time and I've not taken any breaks. I've just gone straight through. So I'm really excited to finally be done.

Here at UCSB, my mentor and my voice teacher is the chair of my committee. Professor Benjamin Brecher has helped me a lot in refining my instrument. There's been a lot of just kind of digging into what it really takes to have a refined instrument in the classical world. It's been a very eye-opening---he's been very helpful in that. And the work that we do in voice lessons has helped structure my ideas for my dissertation that I'll be finishing this week!

It came from networking, honestly. My undergraduate opera director knew Professor Benjamin Brecher. And so it was just kind of "hey, I know someone at UCSB and they have an opportunity for you. Would you be willing to go?" I was auditioning for graduate school and it just was a spur of the moment thing. And I've loved it---it's very pretty, the weather is great...it really spoils you here. So I've had a great time since I've been here.

In high school, when I officially really started classical singing, I learned that being a choir director was not necessarily the route that I wanted to go---I wanted to get a degree in music education. Education is really important to me, but I knew that I didn't want to teach in primary or secondary schools. So I went the vocal performance route in order to get the tools that I needed, in order to be able to teach in a university setting.

Well, I'm working on that! I had an interview, and I'm waiting on those results right now. So I may be moving soon...but the goal is to find a full-time position in a university. I currently work at Cal Poly on the voice faculty, but it's a part-time position, so I'm looking for that full-time role after graduation.