Great Big Story: CCM Alum John Holiday Sings Highest of High Notes
The award-winning countertenor talks about how his naturally high voice became his greatest asset
UC College-Conservatory of Music alumnus John Holiday (MM Voice, '12) sings everything from opera to spirituals on stages all over the world. His journey to singing is featured in a micro-documentary profile by Great Big Story, an Emmy-winning global media company devoted to cinematic storytelling.
Growing up in Texas, Holiday says that he sang in the soprano section of the church choir and was often teased for his high voice. However, the countertenor knew he was destined to be a singer. Watch the profile video on the Great Big Story website.
Holiday has been the recipient of numerous major competitions and award programs such as the 2017 Marian Anderson Vocal Award; the 2014 Catherine Filene Shouse Career Development Grant from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts; the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation; the 2014 Richard Tucker Foundation Sara Tucker award; first place at the 2013 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, the 2012 Sullivan Foundation, and the 2011 Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition; and third place winner in the 2014 OPERALIA competition. In addition, Holiday was named one of Broadway World’s “New York Opera 2015 Gifts that Keep on Giving,” nominated for “Newcomer of the Year” by the German magazine Opernwelt, and listed as one of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100 honorees for 2018. He was a 2007 District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Learn more about his accomplishments on Holiday's professional website.
Featured image at the top: John Holiday. Photo/Shervin Lainez
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Read more #UCtheGood stories, or take a UC virtual visit and begin picturing yourself at an institution that inspires incredible stories.
Related Stories
Can you grow new brain cells?
March 6, 2026
As National Geographic recently reported, a pair of new studies have provided fresh evidence in the long-running scientific debate on if adults can grow new brain cells. The result could be game-changing for treating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Using GLP-1s for weight loss, maintenance after bariatric surgery
March 5, 2026
Bariatric surgery has become a cornerstone treatment for severe obesity and its related comorbidities, offering superior long-term efficacy compared with lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions alone. Yet persistent clinical gaps remain in a subset of patients, including insufficient weight loss and postoperative weight regain.
GALLERY: CCM presents Dance Works, March 5-7
March 5, 2026
UC College-Conservatory of Music presents Dance Works, playing March 5-7 in Patricia Corbett Theater. Tickets are on sale through the CCM Box Office.