From the "It's a Small World" Department

Brent Runnels

Watching and hearing a group of seasoned singers while they marvel at the voice of an unknown young artist is always fun.  My friends, colleagues and I in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus did just that recently ... when countertenor John Holiday began singing on the stage at the Woodruff Arts Center to rehearse our Carnegie Hall-bound performance of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.   As soon as he started to roll out his gloriously full and powerful tone everyone immediately looked at each other and said almost in unison "wow what a voice!"  

I was among those "wowing" his pure and angelic sound, one perfectly suited to the range of Bernstein's lovely melody on the 23rd Psalm text text "Adonai ro-i, lo eḥsar" ("The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want").  At that point we were clearly not wanting for anything other than to soak in his incredible sound!   

John Holiday

As he continued singing I realized I knew that voice; why did I recognize it?  Then it dawned on me, wait a minute I've played for him before!  It took a minute but I realized I had accompanied his Cincinnati Conservatory of Music audition here in Atlanta.  

During my years as a staff singer and Cathedral Concerts manager at the Cathedral of St. Philip CCM used to use the choir room there as a remote location for auditions and they frequently called me to accompany singers who needed an accompanist. John Holiday came through,  I think in 2008, and that year the auditions were held at Peachtree Road United Methodist. I remember how prepared and poised he was then, and of course his voice left an indelible impression on me. 

It was wonderful to see him back with the ASO and ASOC already making such a strong professional impression.  When we got a chance to speak and catch up he was clearly the same open, relaxed and humble young artist I remembered from his audition.  

All this made it even more satisfying to hear him sing so beautifully in our concert last Saturday at Carnegie Hall. It was great to share with my fellow ASOC singers the pleasure and excitement of seeing a young artist make such a strong and beautiful impression in his Carnegie Hall debut.  I hope he will be back in Atlanta soon so that more music lovers might get a chance to hear his marvelously engaging countertenor voice!  

Brent Runnels

Tenor II #220

(Photographs of Brent Runnels and John Holiday taken in front of Carnegie Hall October 27, 2012)