John has been a fan of contemporary a cappella music since discovering The Nylons as a freshman in college in 1988. His passion did not become complete, however, until near the end of his graduate school studies in physics at U.C. Berkeley; from ~1998-2000 he became a huge fan of the California Golden Overtones and the UC Men's Octet. He is very happy he got to see the UC Men's Octet and the California Golden Overtones many times live in concert while at Cal. More recently he has enjoyed concerts by Rockapella, the King's Singers, BYU's Vocal Point, and BYU's Noteworthy.
Since his university days, his a cappella fetish has grown to include classical music, and he joined the La Crosse Chamber Chorale (a mainly classical, mainly a cappella group based in La Crosse, WI) as a bass singer in 2003. He sang with them for four years and served on the chorale's board of directors for three. A move to Utah in 2007 required him to leave the LCC, but he found a similar group in Utah, and currently sings with the Utah Baroque Ensemble, www.utahbaroque.org. You can listen to some recordings from both groups at John's website, here: www.physics.byu.edu/faculty/colton/personal/choral_music.html
While a student at Brigham Young University, John sang in two collegiate choirs, and played trumpet in two collegiate bands. In addition to singing and playing trumpet, John has been a director, accompanist, and singer in various church choirs for the past 20 years. Now back at BYU as a physics professor, John lives in Orem, UT with his wife Pauline and their two children. Besides music, physics, and family, John spends his time helping in the Sunday School at his local LDS (Mormon) church, playing table tennis, and cheering for the Utah Jazz.
jscolton @ physics . byu . edu77 total reviews