Jake Johnson is a writer, pianist, and vocal coach on faculty at the University of Oklahoma. His writing and teaching explore the interweaving of music, literature, art, and media in American life. Much of this research draws upon the lived experience of music among communities throughout the country, particularly in relation to values of belief and belongingness. Jake is the author of Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America (2019) and Lying in the Middle: Musical Theater and Belief at the Heart of America (2021) and editor of the volume The Possibility Machine: Music and Myth in Las Vegas (2023). Current projects include a study of grief within film and television musicals from the long 1960s; a short book on Leigh Harline and Ned Washington’s iconic 1940 song “When You Wish Upon a Star;” various essays on Harry Partch, Ralph Ellison, Mormon hip hop musicals, and Oklahoma opera houses; and a biography of the room where Beverly Hills music patron Betty Freeman hosted her seminal salon series of the 1980s and 90s. In March 2023, Jake began his tenure as incoming Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Musicological Society.
At OU, Jake teaches undergraduate courses in music of the 20th and 21st centuries and a wide range of topical seminars for graduate students. He serves on the board of Painted Sky Opera and frequently writes about music and sound for local publications.
In addition to his musicological work, Jake is an active musical collaborator, having worked as a vocal coach, pianist, and musical director for the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, DePaul University, Chicago Opera Theater, AMDA, Music Theatre of Wichita, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Ballet, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, among others. Many of his former students work prominently in theater, including starring roles on Broadway, in film and television, and on numerous regional and touring productions around the world.
Jake was born and raised in rural Oklahoma. He earned his BM in piano performance from Oklahoma City University, his MM in musicology from the University of Oklahoma, and his PhD in musicology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He makes a lovely life in Oklahoma City with his wife, BrieAnn, and their two daughters.
