Hometown: Stone Mountain, GA

John Harper is currently a double-degree candidate in African American Studies and Vocal Performance at Oberlin College.  John has performed both nationally and internationally in such productions as Snapshots with acclaimed Broadway director Kenny Leon (Atlanta, GA), The Magic Flute with the Rome Festival Opera (Rome, Italy), and Little Women with the Oberlin Opera Theater (Oberlin, OH).  Outside of the arts arena, he has been working to support the students of color initiative on Oberlin’s campus as co-founder of the Admissions Student Advisory Council, a group aimed at increasing minority student recruitment and enrollment at Oberlin. 

John interned at the National Endowment for the Arts during his first summer at the Institute.  In 2007, he interned at TheARC, an innovative community center in Southeast Washington. 

John aspires to become a professional opera singer and one day hopes to open an arts-based community school to support underserved communities across the country.