CLASSICAL MUSIC : Boy Soprano Hopes to Hold High Notes Past Puberty

Christopher Johnson, the precocious lad who sang the role of Harry in San Diego Opera’s recent “Peter Grimes” production, makes his San Diego Symphony debut Friday as soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” Across town at Copley Symphony Hall, the boy soprano will trade his comic role as one of Peter Grimes’ young tormentors for the decidedly more sober incantations of Hebrew psalmody in Bernstein’s choral work.

At age 12, Johnson is already a veteran of San Diego Junior Theatre productions, and even before his “Peter Grimes” debut, he sang with the children’s chorus in San Diego Opera’s “Boris Godunov” and “La Boheme” staged last season. But having his own role in “Peter Grimes” pleases Johnson most.

“In ‘Peter Grimes’ I got to sing a lot by myself. I had more opportunity to act, and I didn’t have to follow what the other kids did.”

When asked whether he had any doubt that his voice would fill the 3,000-seat Civic Theatre, Johnson replied with complete confidence, “The theater is a great echo chamber, even when it is filled with people. And I do have a big voice.”

Holding on to his voice is the boy soprano’s gamble. Johnson says he will continue to sing until it changes, which he hopes will not be that soon. (Directors of boy choirs note that boys’ voices rarely remain unchanged past age 14.)

“Matthew Carey, who sang the part of Sid in ‘Peter Grimes,’ told me that his voice didn’t change until he was 16,” Johnson added hopefully.

Regardless of the course of nature and hormones, Johnson has other musical options: He plays piano, organ, viola and violin. According to his mother, Jeanne, her son’s primary musical studies were in violin, which he began at 2 1/2, and piano, which he started at age 5.

“We were so intent with his violin and piano lessons, that we never thought to pay attention to his voice,” she explained. “It was only when my brother visited us and heard Christopher sing that he suggested that he should study voice. He also agreed to pay for his voice lessons.”

At age 9, Johnson started voice lessons with Paula Chastain, a member of the San Diego Opera Chorus. She suggested that Johnson try out for the boys choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. He has sung with the St. Paul Choristers for the last three years and first sang the “Chichester Psalms” with the men and boys of the cathedral last June.

Because of his heavy involvement with music lessons and performance, Johnson’s parents school him at home. Besides music, Johnson spends time playing basketball and tennis. Asked what he sees himself doing as an adult, he responded with the typical equivocations of a 12-year-old.

“I’d still like to be singing in operas, but then I might decide to do movies instead. Or maybe I’ll make television commercials. When I was 7, I wrote a book, so maybe I’ll end up an author.”

Although he studies at home and performs with the opera and symphony, Johnson does not see himself as different from other 12-year-olds.

“I just have more opportunities than other kids.”

New Disc. San Diego Chamber Orchestra’s first recording, an all-Russian program on the Koch Classics International label, was released this week. Michael Fine, director of artists and repertoire for Koch Classics, made some random observations about recordings before last Thursday’s press conference at the Grant hotel.

“The San Diego Chamber Orchestra’s second recording will be easier to sell. The real challenge is to get European buyers to purchase a collection of Russian music recorded by an American orchestra from a town they probably have never heard of.”

Fine was sufficiently convinced to sign the San Diego Chamber Orchestra to a five-year contract when he heard the tape submitted by the orchestra’s music director, Donald Barra. Barra and his players had taped the four Russian pieces at the University of San Diego’s Founders Chapel in November, 1989. According to Fine, the orchestra’s performance of Prokofiev’s “A Summer Day” is the first digital recording of the work.

The Koch Classics label started in 1989 and specializes in lesser-known orchestras and performers. This season, Fine is recording the Phoenix Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Atlantic Sinfonietta, and the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra.

“I get to record the music that I like,” Fine observed, “especially early 20th-Century British and American repertory.”

Koch admitted that choosing a new performer or conductor was largely intuitive. His intuition paid off when he signed a group with the unlikely name the New York Festival of Song to record Bernstein’s “Arias and Barcarolles,” which won the 1990 Grammy for contemporary music.

San Diego Chamber Orchestra’s next recording for Koch, which will be made in May, will feature saxophonist Michael Whitcomb soloing in Jacques Ibert’s “Concertina da Camera.” Poulenc’s “Sinfonietta” and Ibert’s “Divertissement” will round out the disc.

Prodigies compete. Thirty-four young musicians--all under the age of 19--will be aiming for a $500 cash prize and the opportunity to perform with the San Diego Symphony at Copley Symphony Hall on April 28. The symphony’s annual young artist concerto competition takes place today and Sunday. A panel of five judges, orchestra members and other local musicians will render the verdict. Toughest competition will be among the 21 pianists, although a handful of violinists, a few flutists, a cellist and oboist fill out the roster of aspiring musicians.