A.R. Fariduddin Frederick Robert Johnson

A.R. Fariduddin Frederick Robert Johnson

 

Inayatiyyah Sufi Order Reverend Cherag, Sacred Sound Chanter, Sound and Breath Life Enrichment Trainer, Storyteller, Melodic Narrative Master Teacher, Director, Author, Arts Educator.

Fred Johnson is a health enrichment facilitator, artist and educator dedicated to the journey of creating spaces and experiences that express our respect for and support of honoring life and all living entities.  As a professional performer he has opened for both Aretha Franklin and Dr. Deepak Chopra pointing to his versatility as an artist and life enrichment creative visionary. An acclaimed jazz vocalist, sacred chanter, storyteller, author and arts educator.

 

Fred is a graduate of the National Academy of the Performing Arts as well as the Master Performers School of the National Mime Theater. He has opened for or recorded and toured worldwide with jazz and R& B legends
Ramsey Lewis, Chick Corea, Sonny Rollins, Christian McBride, Richard Elliot, George Benson, Boney James, Joe Zawinul, Ottmar Liebert, David Sanborn, B. B. King, Patti LaBelle, Herbie Mann, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderley and Miles Davis.

He is recognized globally for his work in the health and wellness community as well as his extensive work in international Interfaith peace and reconciliation. He served as Deputy Executive Director of Intersections International, a multi-faith, multi-cultural initiative of The Collegiate Church of New York for ten years and led their international outreach, utilizing the arts, meditation and dialogue specifically addressing challenges in communities around the issues of bias, exclusion and cultural conflict.

 

Since the mid 1980’s Fred has worked in communities throughout the world, empowering children and adults in creative ways, celebrating the richness of who they are, empowering them to dream big, lift their voices and come together to work towards making the experience of living, culturally rich, inclusive, and inspiring. His presentations on the health enriching power of music and artistic expression have caught the attention of internationally recognized holistic health practitioners and the medical community. Fred presents lectures and seminars re-accentuating the importance of creative expression and the sharing of story as catalysts for personal and communal empowerment, health and healing and giving voice to the voiceless. He is a leading voice in the national
conversation regarding Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access and chaired committees for The International Transformational Leadership Council, The Stella Adler Acting Studios, and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida.

Mentored by spiritual masters of the African oral and percussion legacy, Fred has been hailed as one of the true guardians of an oral tradition transplanted and nurtured to create a fusion of cultural heritage that is uniquely American and inherently African. His global presentations of Jazz Roots and Branchesquot, have served to inform and inspire audiences around the world to recognize and celebrate a creative global tapestry set by the first woven thread, sown from the artistic richness of Africa. His Sound Health and Life Enrichment seminars and retreats
teach from the rich African healing traditions aligned with sacred and meditative Sufic practices and contemporary science and medical research.

Fred currently serves as Artist in Residence, Community Engagement/Diversity and Equity Specialist and coordinates the Arts and Health initiative at The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, serves as the Performing artist in Residence at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C., and as the Prescriptive Arts Health and Spirit Life Enrichment Facilitator for the AIM Health Institute and the GW Center for Integrative Medicine in Washington, D.C.