John Hopkins
Professor of Voice, Choir, & Opera Emeritus
John Hopkins received his D.M.A. degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy and his M.A. in Voice from the University of Iowa. He received his B.A. in Music Education with K-12 certification in vocal and instrumental music from Bethel University. Dr. Hopkins received the rank of Professor Emeritus from the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Fairbanks when he retired in 2014 as Professor of Music teaching voice, choir, and opera. He directed the Alaska Camerata, the Choir of the North, and the UAF Opera Workshop in addition to teaching voice. He was the founding director of the Alaska Camerata and the Fairbanks Choral Arts Orchestra. Dr. Hopkins served for ten years as Chair of the Music Department. He is active as a conductor, adjudicator, and clinician for regional and state music festivals and competitions. His choral arrangements of Irving Fine’s works are published by Boosey & Hawkes.
As director of the UAF Opera Workshop, Dr. Hopkins collaborated with the UAF Theatre Department to produce Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Weill’s Threepenny Opera,and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. With the Fairbanks Light Opera Theatre, he conducted Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeoman of the Guard and Pirates of Penzance,&²Ô²ú²õ±è;³¢±ð´Ç²Ô³¦²¹±¹²¹±ô±ô´Ç’s&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Il Pagliacci, and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and with Opera Fairbanks, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors and Help, Help, the Globolinks. In fall 2013, he conducted Verdi and the Bard, a collaboration between the UAF Opera Workshop, Opera Fairbanks, and the Fairbanks Shakespeare Company.
Dr. Hopkins collaborated with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of the North for performances of major choral works. Most recently, he conducted the Choir of the North and the Fairbanks Choral Arts Orchestra in performances of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy,&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±Ê´Ç³Ü±ô±ð²Ô³¦â€™s&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Gloria,&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±á²¹²â»å²Ô’s&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Lord Nelson Mass, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem. His repertoire with the Choir of the North has included a large selection of Russian choral music, including Rachmaninoff’s Vespers and his own edition of Taneyev’s St. John of Damascus.
With the Alaska Camerata, Dr. Hopkins has taken concert tours to Europe and Washington D.C. In 2011, he completed a 17 day concert tour of Italy in collaboration with the Adkins-Chiti Foundazione. Previously, he conducted the ensemble in Prague, Vienna, Melk, Salzburg, and Nürnberg
Dr. Hopkins assisted as conductor for the Northern Lights String Orchestra, which was under the musical direction of Dr. Kathleen Butler-Hopkins. His name has appeared in several Who’s Who lists, and he has served as President of the Alaska Chapter of ACDA and Governor (and founding member) of the Alaska Chapter of NATS.