John Holiday facts for kids

John Thomas Holiday Jr. (born March 31, 1985) is an amazing American singer. He is known as an 'operatic countertenor,' which means he sings very high notes in opera music.

He often sings old Baroque music and new classical songs. He performs in operas on stage, with orchestras, and even in cool mixed-media shows. John has been part of many brand-new music pieces performed for the very first time. He has sung with many opera groups across the U.S., toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and performed in places like Shanghai and Europe.

Besides opera, he also sings gospel, pop, and jazz music. You might even know him from season 19 of NBC's The Voice, a popular TV singing competition.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

John Holiday Jr. was born in 1985 in Rosenberg, Texas. His dad, John Holiday Sr., was a welder, and his mom, Waverly A. Holiday, was a homemaker who loved to sing and play the clarinet. His grandma, Sandra Mathis Franklin, was a pianist and music director at their church.

John taught himself to play the piano by watching his grandma. Later, he learned the organ too. When he was only 6 or 7, he sang solos in church and at school. He joined the Fort Bend Boys Choir, which led him to sing with the Houston Symphony. He performed in a show called La Damnation de Faust with a famous singer named Denyce Graves.

Seeing Denyce Graves perform was a big moment for him. He later said, "I'd never seen anyone who looked like me doing what she did. I'd never thought of being an opera singer. To tell the truth, I didn't know that world even existed. I decided that was what I wanted to do."

John graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg. During high school, he was the top tenor in the All-State Mixed Choir for two years. He was also named one of the Most Outstanding Performers in Texas.

Education and Vocal Training

John studied at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2003 to 2007. He earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance. While at SMU, he won first place several times in a singing competition called the TEXOMA region of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In 2005, he sang in the school's production of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. He also won the Concerto Competition at SMU in 2007.

After SMU, he studied voice at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music for a year. Then, he went back to Rosenberg and taught music at Lamar Junior High and Lamar Consolidated High School from 2008 to 2009.

He returned to his vocal studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. There, he earned a master's degree in vocal performance in 2012. He performed the role of Tolomeo in Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto. In 2011, he won first place in the Dallas Opera Guild Competition. That summer, he also joined the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice program for singers.

Next, John went to Juilliard, a very famous music school. He studied with Marlena Malas and Stephen Wadsworth, earning his Artist Diploma in Opera Studies in 2014. He has mentioned that Andreas Scholl and Derek Lee Ragin were his role models for countertenor singing.

Opera Career Highlights

John Holiday made his debut at Carnegie Hall in October 2012. He performed Bernstein's Chichester Psalms with the Atlanta Symphony. He also debuted at Portland Opera and Cincinnati Opera in the opera Galileo Galilei.

In 2013, he took on the main role in Radamisto at the Juilliard School. That same year, he performed the main role in Giulio Cesare in Egitto at Wolf Trap Opera. In 2014, he made his Los Angeles Opera debut in Dido and Aeneas.

A special moment came in 2015 when he sang in the world premiere of Paradise Interrupted at the Spoleto Festival USA. He performed this role again in New York and Shanghai.

At the Glimmerglass Festival in 2015, he sang in Catone in Utica. He returned in 2017 to sing the main role in Handel's Xerxes.

In January 2017, he won the Marian Anderson Vocal Award, a very important prize. In September 2017, he sang in the world premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved at Opera Philadelphia. He performed this again in March 2018, which was his first time singing in Europe. He then toured with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, performing Chichester Psalms in New York, London, and Paris.

In December 2019, he sang in Handel's Messiah with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. In February 2020, he performed in the world premiere of Eurydice at the Los Angeles Opera. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in that same opera in December 2021.

Even when the COVID-19 pandemic caused many shows to be canceled, John performed a virtual concert at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. He combined old Italian songs with music by Black composers, connecting it to an art exhibit called "The American Struggle."

In November 2022, he sang in the world stage premiere of The Hours at the Metropolitan Opera.

Since 2017, John Holiday has been a professor of music at the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University. He is also a member of important music organizations like the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).

Other Musical Ventures

John Holiday has always enjoyed performing jazz and gospel music. In 2006, he even opened a show for Grammy award winner Jason Mraz in Dallas. That same year, he released a jazz album called "The Holiday Guide."

In 2018, he sang the national anthem at a basketball game between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors at the Toyota Center.

In October 2020, he became a contestant on NBC's The Voice. He was coached by the famous singer John Legend. John Holiday made it all the way to fifth place in the final competition!

He has also released three pop singles: “Alive in Me,” “Waste Mine,” and “Love Finds a Way.” The song “Love Finds a Way” even got a remix by a DJ from Houston. All these songs were produced by Rob Grimaldi, who is known for working on the BTS song “Butter.”

Personal Life and Recognition

John Holiday married Paul Gater in 2013. He later married fellow The Voice contestant DeMario Adams (also known as Rio Souma) on July 30, 2022. The couple now lives in Appleton, Wisconsin.

March 31, John's birthday, has been named "John Holiday Day" in Fort Bend County, Texas, which is a special honor! He is also the second cousin of Jimmie Lee Solomon, who used to be a Vice President for Major League Baseball.

Major Achievements

John Holiday has performed in many important operas and with major orchestras. Some of his notable opera performances include:

• Metropolitan Opera (The Hours, Eurydice)
• Los Angeles Opera (Dido and Aeneas, Eurydice)
• Philadelphia Opera (We Shall Not Be Moved)
• Wolf Trap Opera (Giulio Cesare)
• Glimmerglass Opera (Catone in Utica, Xerxes)
• Spoleto Festival USA (Paradise Interrupted)
• Dutch National Opera (We Shall Not Be Moved)

He has also sung with famous orchestras like:

• New York Philharmonic (Messiah, Chichester Psalms)
• Los Angeles Philharmonic (Chichester Psalms)
• Lucerne Symphony Orchestra (Messiah)

Awards and Honors

John Holiday has received many awards for his incredible talent:

• 2018: Honoree at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts YBCA 100
• 2017: Winner of the Marian Anderson Vocal Award
• 2014: Third Place at Operalia (a major opera competition)
• 2014: Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation
• 2014: Sarah Tucker Career Grant from The Richard Tucker Foundation Competition
• 2013: First Place at The Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition
• 2011: First Place at The Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition
• 2011: Top Award at the Sullivan Foundation Auditions
• 2011: Anna Case MacKay Award from The Santa Fe Opera