John Holiday - Cardinal #1 / Oracle #1

Countertenor

Portland Opera Debut 

In repertoire encompassing George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto to Jonathan Dove’s Flight and beyond, countertenor John Holiday’s expressive and richly beautiful voice has made him an increasingly sought after artist, possessing a “vocal instrument that threatens to equal the name artists in his range.” (Herald Times)

For the 2011-2012 season, Mr. Holiday will make his company debut with Portland Opera in Phillip Glass’s Galileo Galilei. He will be a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and perform with the Chorus of Westerly (Rhode Island) in their concert of Purcell’s Come, Ye Sons of Art. He will also be seen in a benefit concert at Dallas Opera having recently been the first place winner of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. In the future, he will debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano in both Atlanta and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Recently, Mr. Holiday was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera where he covered the role of Corrado in Peter Sellars’s production of Vivaldi’s Griselda and was seen as the Refugee in Flight for the Apprentice Scenes Program. Additionally, he was seen as Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare in Egitto at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, soloist with Bourbon Baroque in Louisville, and soloist in Handel’s Messiah. A career highlight includes an invitation by Pope John Paul II to sing as soloist for High Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel in 2002.

In addition to the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, Mr. Holliday recently received a first prize from the Sullivan Foundation for 2012 and was also awarded fifth place in the Palm Beach Opera Competition in 2011. In 2007, he was the first place winner in his district of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Holiday was a first place winner of the TEXOMA region of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

In addition to the classical repertoire, Mr. Holiday excels in jazz music having opened for Grammy award winner Jason Mraz in concert. He is a graduate of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, where he earned his Bachelor of Music in voice performance and will complete his Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music in the spring of 2012.

www.johnholidaylive.com