Music has been a part of John LaForge’s life for as long as he can remember. He was in musical theater in high school, sang in his first opera in college and has taught music to high school students.

Now he brings his varied musical background to town as the new music minister at Gainesville First United Methodist Church. Today, we ask LaForge five questions about a life filled with music.

1. What process do you go through to decide what music is sung on Sunday mornings?

The first thing I take into consideration is the overall theme of the day’s worship services. The senior minister, the Rev. Terry Walton, provides sermon topics, Scripture references and a brief overview of the message several months in advance so that the entire staff has ample time to plan their work effectively. As much as possible, all music, including hymns, choral anthems, praise choruses, etc., are selected to support the theme of the service.

2. How did you decide to get into the music ministry?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t involved in church music in some way. My parents sang in church choirs when my two sisters and I were growing up, so being involved in children’s and youth music ministry was the norm for all of us.

After college, I held part-time positions leading music for two small Baptist churches, one in Killeen, Texas, and the other in Fayetteville, Ga. After going to graduate school and spending several years singing opera, I took a part-time job as a paid soloist for an Episcopal church in Sandy Springs.

Prior to joining the staff at GFUMC this summer, I spent the past six years singing in the Sanctuary Choir at Roswell United Methodist Church. Like all the members of that choir, I was a volunteer. One thing that helped me prepare for my present job was having opportunities to direct the choir in rehearsal and worship multiple times every year when the director of music was away.

3. You have sung with several opera companies. How did you develop an interest in opera and has it impacted other areas of your career?

I had never seen an opera until I was in the chorus of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” as a freshman at Baylor. I enjoyed being involved in musical theater in high school, so opera wasn’t really that much of a stretch for me. I think the timbre of my voice has always lent itself to singing classical music.

The greatest challenge for me was studying foreign languages and developing an understanding of proper singing diction so that I could learn and perform the majority of operas in the modern repertoire, which (are) composed mostly in Italian, French, German and English. Language study, along with lots and lots of voice lessons and coaching, helped me along the way.

These studies certainly allowed me to develop skills that I use in teaching, but singing also allowed me to travel and meet so many wonderful people throughout the country and in other parts of the world.

Above all else, this helped me learn to work with people.

4. You also have spent some time teaching music to students. How important is that to developing well-rounded young people?

That’s a great question. I taught choral music and voice at Tri-Cities High School — the visual and performing arts magnet program in Fulton County — for seven years. It was a great experience working with students who either had a strong interest in pursuing music-related careers, or wanted to develop their talents to use as amateur singers while having careers in other fields.

Study in areas like fine arts and athletics helps students learn interpersonal skills and the importance of being part of a team.

As a high school teacher, I would often hear college recruiters talk about how their schools wanted to recruit students who could relate well to their colleagues and teachers and had interests outside their major areas of study.

Church and community choirs and instrumental ensembles are filled primarily with people having careers outside the arts, but they enjoy having a collaborative music experience with others.

5. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I enjoy playing golf, though I’m not very good at it. I confess that I’m a bit of a hack since I don’t take time to play very often.

I also enjoy cooking, especially when Bonnie and I can spend time together in the kitchen. Our specialties are preparing Italian and Mexican cuisine, and tamales are our favorite thing to make from scratch.

I also volunteer as director of auditions for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Southeast Region and serve as associate conductor for the Michael O’Neal Singers, a community chorus based in Roswell.