Remembrance of Mark Johnson
Our March concert is dedicated to the memory of Mark Johnson, skilled bass singer, choir member for many years, and staunch supporter of the choir. The following is what we presented at the concert as a tribute to Mark, expression of our grief, and celebration of his life and his many contributions to the choir:
Last November 14th, we had our first in-person Seattle Bach Choir concert in two years.
Mark Johnson, our friend and bass singer extraordinaire, stood with us here and sang beautifully, as he always did. If you didn’t know Mark personally, you might have recognized him by his long, wooly white beard and his perfectly turned handlebar moustache. A few weeks ago, Mark passed away unexpectedly, and we have all been trying to adjust to his absence. Today, we want to remember Mark and his many contributions to the Seattle Bach Choir.
If you have attended many of our concerts over the years, you’ve enjoyed Mark’s wonderful bass voice. He was a frequent soloist, rock-solid in his singing, whether it was a rehearsal or a concert. Mark loved to sing. He sang with us in the Seattle Bach Choir, he sang with the illustrious Opus 7 group, the Cascadian Chorale, and his church choir in Bellevue. His lovely wife, Giulia, who also sings in this choir, shared with us that she met Mark in college of their freshman year. Then a math major, and later employed in computer science, Mark brought that precision of a mathematician and computer scientist to his singing.
We will miss Mark’s kindness, his sunny spirit, and his sense of humor. We remember his one-time stint as a conductor for the Seattle Bach Choir back in 2017 [see the photo above]. He was the high bidder for the opportunity to conduct the choir at our annual Bachtoberfest auction. He seemed thrilled to have the opportunity to change up the tempo as well as hold that fermata for a few extra beats, as the audience watched with amusement and joy our efforts to follow the new maestro. He had fun—and so did we!
Mark regularly participated in the Walla Walla summer music camp, Midsummer Musical Retreat, where his talents as a humorist equaled his talents as a musician. In addition to his fine choral capabilities, Mark was known for barbershop antics, hilarious skits, and his creative lyrics.
Mark Johnson—What a Renaissance man! He was famous for:
- his clever puns
- putting together thousand-piece puzzles
- his woodworking talents
- teaching himself to play the mandolin and violin
- and for his creation of clever musical videos with his “identical brothers” on Facebook. (If you haven’t seen them, check them out!)
We will remember Mark as a loyal, gifted musician who made this choir better because of his presence over many years. We offer this concert in his memory.