Director of Music:  John Stevenson

Music and broadcasting have always gone hand‑in‑hand in John’s life. He is a graduate of Indiana University with degrees in music and radio/TV, and was very active in both areas in his home state of Indiana. John sang with the Singing Hoosiers, and toured with a small choral ensemble for the USO, singing in the Caribbean, Europe and the North Atlantic. John was soloist at the inauguration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, appearing with Hoagy Carmichael. 

 

He sang with the United States Army Chorus and was master of ceremonies for the U.S. Army Band and Chorus. After military service, music took John to New York City where he appeared off‑Broadway and at Lincoln Center. But broadcasting brought him back to Washington when he began hosting a nationally syndicated radio show called Matinee for Parkway Communications where he eventually became vice‑president of programming.

 

In 1985, John went to the Voice of America where he is currently Director of the Central Programming Division, overseeing features, music and Special English, a service for listeners around the world who are learning English.

 

Outside the workplace, John has been very active in musical theatre, performing leading roles in such shows as Oklahoma, South Pacific, Camelot, I Do, I Do, Sweeney Todd and many, many others. He has been soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra on several occasions, including an appearance in their Valentine Pops Concert. In other concert appearances, John has performed as soloist in such works as Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms Requiem, Haydn’s The Creation, and numerous others. He is now in his 26th year as director of music at Colesville Presbyterian Church where he oversees five choirs and personally directs two. 

 

John’s wife, Kate is a fine singer and actress who has written and produced a one‑woman show called Women: Back to the Future. In this program, Kate portrays historical women role models in words and music for schools, conventions, and community groups around the country. John and Kate have two wonderful children, Juliana, 23, and Owen 20.