NEPA Sings: Meet the Contestants

Talia Johnson, left, and John Toussaint

“Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow till you find your dream”
 – The Sound of Music

As musical theater performers, Talia Johnson and John Toussaint seem to be taking that advice from The Sound of Music to heart.

Talia, 21, and John, 17, both found and nurtured their love of music on the musical theater stage.

“My middle school drama teacher, Holly Baker, inspired me to get involved with the magic of theater,” John said. “And from that time on, it’s been a part of me that I treasure.”

Talia got her start in music the same way, and has been performing for more than 13 years.

They both have also spoken so graciously about their involvement in NEPA Sings.

“I think it’s one of the greatest opportunities I’ve ever had,” John said. “These volunteers show kids every day that someone is there, that someone is their voice, and is helping guide them to be able to someday be confident using their own voice.”

John, who is competing in NEPA Sings for the second year in a row, is glad to be able to use his gifts to help others.

“I love that I can also use my voice to bring recognition, donations, and support to these children and hopefully bring some musical enjoyment to anyone involved in NEPA Sings.”

Talia’s desire to help children has extended beyond the stage and into her studies.  

“I am truly honored,” she said. “I am soon graduating college to become a clinical psychologist to help children. I want to make this impact on and off the stage. It is so important, especially in this day and age, to give children a voice for they truly are the future.”

Talia, who is from Nazareth and attending college at King’s, is influenced by Whitney Houston (which is what she’s singing at NEPA Sings!), and once performed in front of The Phillies’ Chase Utley at a Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs game.

John lives in Dallas and attends Dallas High School. As much as he’s an avid musician, he’s also an avid tennis player. His team was crowned district champions last year and he was also voted The Citizen’s Voice Boys Tennis Player of the Year for 2018.

Performances from Talia and John are certainly not to be missed at this year’s NEPA Sings. To hear them and our other finalists lift their voices for children in need, click here to get your tickets!

Tickets for the April 11 show are only $25 and include a one-hour cocktail reception before our singers take the stage. Children 12 and under are admitted for free! Tickets are also available at the CASA of Luzerne County office, the Greater Wilkes Barre Chamber of Commerce, and the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston.

NEPA Sings: Meet the contestants

Christopher James Bohinski, left, and Marccia Kanoc

For Christopher James Bohinski and Marccia Kanoc, music is a foundation on which they have built their lives.

“My earliest childhood memories include me performing on some type of stage with some sort of audience,” Christopher James said. “I enjoy making people happy and especially doing so through performing.”

Music has played a big role in Marccia’s life, too.

“I grew up in church, and every Sunday morning praising Jesus was my favorite thing to do,” she said. “My mom said when I was four, I would sing adult songs and know all the lyrics.”

Christopher James and Marccia, both 28, have also found that music and performing is a way to bring joy to others.  Especially the children served by CASA of Luzerne County.

“It’s an absolute blessing and an honor to be part of the reason a child out there gets the funding they need to have a chance at the life they deserve,” Marccia said. “I think it’s beautiful symmetry that I can use my voice so the children can use theirs.”

Christopher James echoed that statement.

“Volunteering my voice in this fashion to help fundraise for this wonderful organization, CASA of Luzerne County, makes me smile,” he said.

Marccia lives in Nanticoke with her husband and is a jack of all trades. She is the social media coordinator at Dundee Gardens, a substitute teacher, and a server at Canteen Park. She also is an avid crafter and loves to make soap, knit, crochet, and wood burn.

Christopher James is from Wilkes Barre and also wears more than one hat – a caregiver and an entertainment journalist with his own webseries, NYC Smile 4 Me. Not only has he interviewed more than 600 celebrities, he is one of two people in the entire world recorded breaking multiple wine glasses on camera using just his voice.

NEPA Sings is your only chance to hear both Christopher James and Marccia on the same stage at the same time, performing for a great cause. Join us on April 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. Tickets are only $25 and include a one-hour cocktail reception before the performance. Children 12 and under are FREE!

Click here to get your tickets online, or purchase them with cash or check at the CASA of Luzerne County office, the Greater Wilkes Barre Chamber of Commerce, or the KCCA at Wyoming Seminary’s Upper Campus in Kingston.