How A Tech-Savvy Singer Turned Cafeteria Courage Into A Life On Stage

A gospel-soaked childhood, a cafeteria duet in Zulu, and a Conservatory leap into grand opera—John Overholt’s journey charts how curiosity and courage can turn a voice into a compass. We sit down to explore how ETSU’s choral culture and a sharp-eared mentor shaped his sound, why Cincinnati Opera became a decade-long proving ground, and how returning to Knoxville opened doors to community gigs, cathedral acoustics, and a chance meeting that became an engagement.

From Handel’s Messiah at Fairfield Glade to Knoxville Opera’s seasonal slate, John talks about shifting gears between mic’d quartet work and unamplified sacred repertoire, and what each room asks of a singer. The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus becomes a character in its own right—vaulted ceilings, lucid echoes, and the kind of space that insists on honesty. We dig into the emotional physics of music too: why audiences stand for Battle Hymn, how a perfectly placed high note in Nessun Dorma can reset a room, and why visual feedback from listeners feeds the performance in real time.

Threaded through the story is a tech backbone—dial-up nostalgia, homebuilt PCs, and a father’s pioneering direct-to-disc recordings that prized clarity long before the vinyl revival. That tinkerer’s spirit now powers smart rehearsal setups, better mics, and the practical know-how that turns gigs into sustainable work. Add in tour memories from Notre Dame to Costa Rica, the “trench coat scooter guy” campus lore, and the mentoring moments that spark new singers, and you get a portrait of an artist who treats style as a toolkit and community as the stage.

If music has ever caught your breath in a cathedral, or if you’ve wondered how a working singer blends opera, gospel, and tech into one life, this conversation is for you. Listen, share it with a friend who loves choral music or opera, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Transcript

Origins And Gospel Roots

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So I meet Dr. Genette and I say, hey, can we do gospel? Because mom listened to a lot of Gaither Vocal Band. A lot of Gaither Vocal Band. Every day we get in the car, that red messed up Gaether Vocal Band CD. Just put that in there and then listen to that wherever we go. So I thought I was gonna be a big. That didn't work out. And so I asked Doc and he said, let's do a gospel group. And so we found a bunch of clips and put it together, and then that's off the road.

KC 1:13

And today we're gonna have a chat with John Overholt. John's a good buddy from East Tennessee State, and we've been able to sing together through on the choirs, Living Harmony, Vachu Gorilli, Amadeus Ensemble, Brethren, King's Cadence, a lot of different ensembles. And I'm looking forward for you guys to meet him today and learn about what's going on in his life and how he's using singing for the good. See you in a bit. Oh yeah. Um so a lot of the folks may not know who you are yet, but what's going on like right now with you? And I know there's some big things happening. I could go on, but I want to let you tell me what's happening, man.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

I'm still singing more like can't stop singing. I've never in my life sung as much as I have since I moved back from Cincinnati back home here. Right. So I left Newport, which is Newport,

Meet John Overholt

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Tennessee.

KC 2:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

On your way to Asheville, if you're coming from Knoxville, I guess.

KC 2:51

So last stop there before the North Carolina line.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Yeah. To ETSU in 2008.

KC 2:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

ETSU was a great experience with me with Dr. Jinrett, as we may talk about later. And then uh decided I really want to shoot for the stars. Let's get out there, let's get it going. So I found a great voice teacher at Cincinnati Conservatory. And so I decided to go study with him. And that's one of the reasons that I chose that school. But then found out there were way many more reasons that that was a great idea. And then after that, I went to Cincinnati Opera and sang with them for about 10 years, I would say, in the chorus with some solos here and there. But yeah, we did Pink Floyd The Wall of the Opera, we did Magic Flute, we did Flying Dutchman, we did all sorts of stuff. Super high caliber production quality. Right. And then now being back here, it's just amazing. So my favorite thing right now is I'm getting called to do a bunch of different things. That being opera or gospel or even spiritual here. So my quick plugs would be I'm singing with Fairfield Glade United Methodist Church in Crossville, Tennessee. Nice. Yeah, we've got that for Handel's Messiah.

SPEAKER_04 3:55

Good.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

The standard version. Yeah, yeah. Comfort Ye, every valley, you know. The staples. Yes.

KC 4:01

Isn't it funny how you learned those early on? And I think most voice teachers tell you that you've got to learn these because if nothing else, you'll get called to do these.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Every Christmas. Right. So we're in Christmas overdrive.

KC 4:12

I don't know if it's the same thing with you. Yeah, for me, it's about to ramp up the first three weekends in December are booked. Cool. Nothing that I have to prepare for right now.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Oh, okay, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. So that plus a Knox Locker is doing a holiday quartet with some singers. So yeah, we're going to be at the Blunt County Library December 16th. Have you been to the Blunt County Library? I haven't. Oh my goodness. It's huge. It's absolutely enormous. Yeah, it's fascinating, really. Awesome. So yeah, we're going to do that. We did that last year's. And that's where I met my fiance now.

KC 4:41

Yes. Your fiance. Tell me about that because that's good news you've got with you and Kate, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Yeah. Y'all, y'all. I proposed in last June. You should be getting your stuff soon.

KC 4:52

If I can, I'll be there. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Yeah, uh, it was just amazing to meet someone like her. The best part really is just being alone and then finding someone like her.

KC 5:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Was just I never thought possible, really.

KC 5:05

Right, right. You know. So you met her on this Caroline gig?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

I'd moved back to Newport from Cincinnati in 22, I think. So I emailed Knoxville Opera. I said, Hey, what's going on? What are y'all doing? I'm bored. I've been singing a lot in Cincinnati for the last 10 years. I really want to do more. And they said, Oh yeah, we'll figure something out. You want to be in this opera? And I was in the local play and Cinderella

Cincinnati Years And Opera Highlights

SPEAKER_00 5:28

with Newport. So I was like, I don't know if I have time. So they had to postpone me for the opera, but then they said, We got something for Christmas. So come on down, we'll we'll figure something out.

SPEAKER_04 5:37

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

They were really trying to figure out if I was any good. You know, they were like, Absolutely. And then I went out and sang Jasu Bambino.

KC 5:45

Did you guys do period costumes or the Dickens costumes? Or is it just I wish we had. Well, sometimes Carolyn.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Well, it's opera Carolyn, so it's kind of, you know, fancy.

KC 5:57

So tuxedos or whatever. Yeah. Should you tell the folks what Kate does for the Oxford? So Kate works for the Oxford.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Yes, she does. She's the artistic administrator. I think she has changed her title. Executive Artistic. Let me make sure I get this right because I need to get it right. Let's see here. She is the director of artistic administration. Uh at least that was her title. I think that's her new title. She'll definitely uh correct me on this when I get home. But you know, either way, yes, I emailed them. They hired me, and then we got to meet in person.

KC 6:31

Got to meet in person on this Carolyn gig. That's what it was. I remember you telling me about it. Okay. And the rest is history.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Exactly.

KC 6:38

All right. Well, congratulations on that again, man. It's exciting. We're excited for you. Um okay, Knoxville Opera. You're working on their seasons when needed, whenever it calls for a role, a copy Mario role.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Doing all kinds of stuff there.

KC 6:53

Tell me about this church gig, man, because you're at a beautiful cathedral there in town.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, and from my time in Europe, I've really fell in love with cathedrals. When Doc and I went to France and Spain, Austria, Hungary, those two tours, and then we went to Costa Rica. Right. We got to sing in the most amazing cathedrals ever. Uh Notre Dame. We walked in and we looked at it, and it just takes your breath away.

SPEAKER_04 7:15

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

And then Doc figured out someone there could talk with them to make it so that we could sing. It wasn't an official concert or anything, but it was great. We were touring already. He figured out how to let us sing that there in that hall.

KC 7:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

And it was transformative, really.

KC 7:30

Absolutely. You know, yeah, it's magical. We sang there in '98.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Really? Now are you official? Yes, it was an official concert. Okay. Oh, we just can't remember how long it was.

KC 7:41

It didn't feel long, but yeah, we got the singing there too, man. It's crazy to think about the history of that church.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Right. So that feeling when we first did the Amadeus concert ensemble here in town. Right. And when we did that there, I was like, this is the church. We have found this beautiful, what is it, a hundred feet tall ceilings? I wish I knew.

KC 8:00

There's this cathedral. Cathedral of the most sacred heart of Jesus. The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mm-hmm. Here in Knoxville, just on the west side. And it came straight from Europe to here. But it's less than 20 years old. I think it's less than 10 years old. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It's incredible. And the acoustic is great. So you're singing there, you're doing the masses, I guess, through the weekend. Yep. What size is that group?

SPEAKER_00 8:22

It's about eight to ten. So they have some Spanish cantors. Otherwise, it would be an octet. So some of the accompanists join in and sing too. So it's great. Yeah. Nice, man.

KC 8:31

So I think this is the best place to talk about your love of all things tech.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Oh, yeah?

KC 8:36

Yeah, I think so. So John has all the latest and greatest toys, it seems.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

Yeah.

KC 8:41

Sometimes he's even one of those guys testing this gear out. So I don't know how that happens, but you know how it happens. So how did you get into that? Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

My dad, really. Ultimately had access to the internet with dial-up when I was like five. I was like, what is all this stuff, you know? And had a computer, built computers back then when I was six and seven. Instead of playing with Legos, we played with computer parts. Yeah, and we just put them together and installed operating systems and did all sorts of stuff. I was so confident I thought I was the IT guy in fifth grade, you know, and a teacher would say, My computer's broken. And then everybody was like, John, help us.

KC 9:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

What's wrong with the computers? I'm like, I don't know. Let me see.

KC 9:20

So your dad, I know he was a musician, and I know he was a tech just like you. So tell me about that influence. I don't know exactly what it was he did.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Oh, yeah. What he pioneered was direct-to-disc recording. So he would have musicians come in, have really great microphones, and had this way of recording direct to the LP that made high-end recordings that really got a lot of that static out of there, brought a really high-quality recording to it. So Dave Rubeck, The Grateful Dead, uh, he got a boots Randolph Sacks at one point, you know, Yakity Sacks. So yeah, he had that. He actually was really bragging. He just sold that almost an antiques roadshow kind of style. Oh wow. Yeah, he he was really excited about that. Nice.

KC 10:04

So that's awesome. So grew up tech, grew up with some music influence. Was your mother musical? Artistic. Artistic, yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah.

KC 10:11

And then um, do your brothers take on any music?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

My older brother, James, played sax in band, just like I did. After I joined chorus, I joined band. Right. I played alto sax. I then decided to do Barry Sacks when they were doing marching season. Oh that thing is heavy.

KC 10:28

Yeah, you so you're kind of leading the pack there musically. Um talking about performing with the Newport Theater Guild. Yeah. Yes. Which is also, you know, another one of our friends. There we go. Stephanie Moyers.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Stephanie Moyers, yeah.

KC 10:41

And she's gonna kill us for talking about her. But she was your neighbor. Yeah. Which is crazy. I'm older than John. I was at East Tennessee before John by a couple of years there. But Stephanie and I were in school together at East Tennessee State. Anyway, it's just a small room.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

So she was your neighbor on the piano we had downstairs, just old, upright, barely

Holiday Gigs And A Knoxville Homecoming

SPEAKER_00 11:00

tuned. But she wrote it out, each individual key, the letter on each one. So A, B, C, D, A, G, A. Yeah. You know, uh, all the way up. So I knew what an octave was. Instead of building the computer, I'd go over to the piano. She would come through the basement door and help teach me a little bit.

KC 11:14

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah.

KC 11:15

Yeah, she's great. She's still teaching in the county. And I think she's elementary, right? Music teacher. I think so. Still active with the shows there. Yeah. A great lady, great mother, great wife, great teacher, I'm sure. And beautiful singer. Yeah. Um, let's talk about how we met. Yeah. I was trying to think about this earlier when I knew you were coming over. Yes. I'm assuming we we probably met through an alumni thing.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Something. Do you remember the Farrah Requiem that you came to see as the basic?

KC 11:42

But that was the Brahms Requiem.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Brahms, thank you.

KC 11:44

Yes, because I did it in uniform.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Fancy. Yeah, go ahead.

KC 11:46

Okay, so the Brahms Requiem. I went back, it was Dr. Ginret's final concert, and I was a baritone soloist for that performance. It was a huge choir alumni. It was big. It was good. So that was probably the first time we crossed paths. We didn't really get the hob knob.

SPEAKER_04 12:00

No.

KC 12:00

But I got to meet you and a lot of the other guys that were there at the time. And then fast forward, then the Army Corps came out to Castleton's.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yes.

KC 12:09

And performed for that. And you were in apprenticeship or yeah, apprentice, that's it.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yeah, young artists. Yeah, because I was just getting out of my master's. Okay. And I was doing their training program there. They have coaches, they do scenes and things with opera and stuff like that.

KC 12:21

So you got to do a number of shows that summer, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah. Yeah, we did.

KC 12:24

Because I remember you coming up, introducing yourself. We talked about the army gig. We just talked about everything, and it was really good to connect there. Then you went back to Cincinnati, kind of settled in with the opera. You had that tech job. First worked at Best Buy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Which was a natural fit. You know, I could just tell them everything. Yeah. Anyone, anything, it was.

KC 12:44

Were you in the Geek Squad?

SPEAKER_00 12:45

No, I didn't do that. I should have. But the sales was fun for me. I just like to talk to people.

KC 12:50

I understand.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Yeah. The Geek Squad guys kind of hide away. You know, yeah, that's true.

KC 12:54

So yeah, yeah. And then you rolled into first I did Micro Center after that. You showed me about Micro Center up in DC one year. Okay. So you went to Cincinnati and then I guess there were more alumni things. But once you found yourself back down to Knoxville, I got my hooks in you to help out with King's Cadence because as you know, it's a quartet, but I have to have a bullpen of singers because of schedules and whatnot. So that's been great, man. So, John, how did you find yourself at East Tennessee State? I mean, I know you grew up in Newport. It's close by, and I know you were active band and chorus in high school.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Right. Were you recruited, or did you you would think, honestly, with the way everything went and how exponentially bigger and bigger and bigger my involvement in the music department was, that it would have been like I was recruited to do this specific thing. But James and Dan, both my brothers, went there. Oh. So it was an easy, kind of like, okay, well, if they went there, why not? Also, there is a rock and music program. It was rocking, and Doc was rocking on all cylinders. And then I was on the fence about being a computer science major and a music major, just finding out that opera existed right as senior year started, really. Figuring out that big men could make people cry with Ines and Dorma. Absolutely. You know, Pavarotti did it, of course. And then finally on YouTube, finding Paul Potts that did it there. For the uh America's Got Talent, that was just amazing seeing people uh so reactive like that.

KC 14:18

You were already doing theater, it's a different thing, but it's still singing, performing, acting. You had most of the boxes were already checked off for opera. It was just another technique that you were gonna have to tap into.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Right. That was like the beginning of senior year, late junior year when I figured it out. Because I had already done uh a role in Christmas Carol at the Newport Theater Guild. Then we did My Fair Lady, okay, which was my senior year, and that was kind of the end of my career at my high school. I was like, I'm gonna do I'll be paid too little, and then figure it out in ETSU, maybe that'll work out, you know, computer science minor, music major. And so with that, when I finally get to ETSU, started studying with Dr. Jinret. Not only was he the great chorus teacher, but he was also a really great vocal teacher, you know. Really helped you find your voice, help you prepare for things. Just all around good guy and good teacher. I also studied with Kieran Smith there.

KC 15:12

Uh she was there after I left.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Oh, she's so great. Also a C CM graduate. Oh yeah. So I meet Dr. Jinrett and I say,

Meeting Kate And Knoxville Opera

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Hey, can we do gospel? Because mom listened to a lot of Gaither Vocal Band. Oh, yeah. A lot of Gaither Vocal Band. Every day we get in the car, that red messed up Gaither Vocal Band CD. Yes. Just put that in there and then listen to that wherever we go. Yeah. So I thought I was going to be a bass. Oh. That didn't work out. And so I asked Doc and he said, Let's do a gospel group. And so we decided to turn his bucksworth that he had from yesteryear into a gospel group. And so we found a bunch of kids and put it together. And then that's all she wrote.

KC 15:50

At East Tennessee, the mascot is a buccaneer. Yeah. And through the years, Dr. Genert had this uh men's ensemble that was kind of the a cappella, you know, the cool guys, the dewopy kind of stuff. And depending on the year, it would be 10 bucks worth or 12 bucks worth. When I was there, it was four bucks worth. Actually, he'd kind of taken a break. We claimed that name, but we put together a quartet and did some stuff on a couple of the home concerts, and we also had some stuff in our back pocket for our European trip. I remember at one of the mixers we did with a group from France, we did some barbershop. Oh, yeah. And they love that. Oh, I bet. They love, you know, the American style. They love barbershop and American spirituals.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yeah, okay.

KC 16:34

In Europe. They do them, but it's not the same.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

Right. And anyway, that was that's fascinating.

KC 16:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

I guess I get that. We like the French and we like the win and wrong, you know, right stuff.

KC 16:45

But it was a great ensemble to be a part of. And every year was different. But he had lots of great ideas. And not only was he a traditional choral master, but I thought he had great ears for the pop stuff, man. He really did. Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Yeah, if it wasn't Orphe Dranger, which was the chorus he listened to, I think the most. I think he just he has like all their CDs. I think it's a community chorus somewhere. I'm not sure. But he just loves their repertoire. He would pick choral stuff from them and then get through vocal band. He was just like, oh well, let's find the one that fits the student. Which imitating David Phelps and singing like David Phelps was really fun. Right. It was really fun.

KC 17:20

We've talked a little bit about ETSU. We've talked a little bit about Dr. Gen Rat. You know, you mentioned the Notre Dame impromptu performance. What are some other highlights?

SPEAKER_00 17:29

What I will never forget is the first time I got recruited to the choir at high school.

KC 17:34

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

So when I was a kid, in addition to the computers, I would set up sound systems in my basement. Okay. It would set up and really blare it to as well as the speakers could sound. So Lion King was playing, and I learned the Zulu. When I was a kid. I was at the high school cafeteria. Right. And somebody sang it, and I noticed it was wrong. He was singing it publicly. So I then just chimed in and just started singing it with him in the cafeteria.

KC 18:05

They were like, Scooch, everybody.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

Are you in the choir? Why are you not in the choir?

KC 18:10

Yeah, that's funny. So you're just like out of nowhere. That's rare for a dude, right? Yeah. To step up and start singing in the cafeteria.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

That became like a staple for me, by the way. I just kept doing that. In ETSU after high school, I would be the trench coat scooter guy. Yeah.

KC 18:27

The trench coat scooter guy. Go ahead, explain that.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Okay, okay. So yeah, I had my trench coat, of course, big cloth, king size trench coat. Big guy, same size as I was back then. And I got my razor scooter. I would just ride around DTSU going up and down the hills.

KC 18:43

This wasn't a motorized one, was it? No, no, no. Oh, it's like you were kicking along. Oh, yeah. Right? Are you right footed or left footed?

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Uh so I put my right foot on and then I kick with my left. Really? Now I changed a master's degree. I upgraded to a gas-powered one.

KC 18:54

Oh. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

That was great.

KC 18:57

I love it. So you were bouncing around East Tennessee State University and you became this superhero. Yeah, yeah. That's right. They started a Facebook page about you, right? I think it's still out there. Is it ETSU scooter guy?

SPEAKER_00 19:10

ETSU trench coat scooter guy.

KC 19:12

ETSU trench coat scooter guy. I'll try to put it in the video. I live. He's still alive, people. All right. Those are both great stories. But what about these choir tours with Doc? Tell me about some special moments other than the Notre Dame. Because you did Costa Rica.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Climbed a volcano.

KC 19:30

Okay. You sang inside a volcano.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

We went up there and climbed a volcano. We were just under it. We didn't climb the whole thing. It was huge.

SPEAKER_04 19:40

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

You know, but we got real close up to the base, and then you could see the whole thing, and then we all took a group picture there. Yeah, and that was great.

KC 19:47

John, growing up in the church, you know, like you said, your mom had gaith vocal band on repeat in the car. Yeah. And one of the things I want to share on these podcasts is, you know, singing in a choir, even military course, the majority. Of what you sing is sacred rap. You know, sometimes it's high church, sometimes it's gospel, sometimes it's whatever's in between, right? There's a lot of scripture-based songs out there that are staples that people are familiar with. I mean, I tell people all the time, even Battle Hymn of the Republic, that we would close out with every single time. The third verse is In the Beauty of the Lilies, Christ was born across the sea with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

It's like going through my head right now.

KC 20:25

And most people stand and clap on that. Now, I love seeing the impact of music, how it heals, it can soothe, it can inspire, encourage, right? We don't have to have the answers as the instruments, as the vessels. It doesn't matter what we think. Let the music do its thing. You were telling me about the influence, you know, seeing Paul Potts singing Nessendorma on that YouTube and bringing the audience to tears as they applauded for him. That inspired you to learn that style and see how it moves people.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

Yeah.

KC 21:01

Some people are glad they can't see the audience. I'm sad that I can't see the audience.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Yeah.

KC 21:06

I really am. I don't care if I'm goofing off or if I'm seeing something serious or if I'm seeing something spiritual. I want to see visual feedback from the audience because that feeds me. It helps me. So with that said, can you think of a time when you were in that situation as you're performing where you were like, Yes, this means something to that person or these people, you know?

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah, like uh the performance the day before yesterday, I think you know recently. Knoxlopper goes to church. There you go. Perfect. You know, and it's fascinating. They play the music for the gospel, and it's just let's do this. Everybody get up and clap, have a great time. And then by the end, yes, good job. That was great. And they did a great job, the Knox Llopper Gospel choir. I mean, they are just rocking it out, really. Yeah, for real. I mean, it's just fascinating. But then they brought in the opera singers. So they have my friend Joel came and sang um Larko Alfactotum.

Cathedrals, Tours, And Acoustics

SPEAKER_00 22:00

The big baritone aria. See him prepare. He's just like energy, energy, energy, energy. Let's get this going. Woo hoo whoo! Yes, yeah, yeah.

KC 22:09

It takes that. Yeah, I've never performed that. I don't know if you go. I don't listen to it.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

I don't know if I don't know what I don't know. Yeah, yeah. That's hard. And so I I totally get it for him. Like, well, this old house would do my jewelry. So yeah, that, and then they had me do Nestorma. Oh. And so I performed Nest and Dorma. The whole thing is just coming out so well. Everything works. All my friends there, family and everybody just getting into it.

KC 22:40

Which I mean, how can you-no no, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Well, we followed it with the Pearl Fisher's duet. So we just kept going, really. Honestly. You know, because you sing the last note, and I just held it on that note for as long as I could, and just drop and then I just held that forever as long as I could. Because when it influenced me when I was a kid, I was like, oh, this really can move people. And then I see one of these guys that I met at a Beethoven concert we did with Knox Lopra. He had such a profound feeling with sitting next to me in Beethoven that he wants to do lessons and stuff like that. So he's like really excited. And he's a big guy like me. Seeing me do that. Was this kid in high school or no? He was at Pelosi. So younger guy.

KC 23:28

So young guy sits next to John Overholt in a rehearsal in a performance, right? Yeah, yeah. And he's inspired, rightly so. Probably tickled. Oh, yeah, yeah. Probably was laughing at you because you're a funny dude.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Well, that Beethoven.

KC 23:41

Intentionally funny.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

Yeah, Beethoven is intense. He just decided to just put all the keys in there.

KC 23:51

So we sit next to you, and then he came to this other concert that you did as an audience member. Yeah. Did he talk to you afterwards?

SPEAKER_00 23:59

He left. I wish I had to be a good one.

KC 24:00

So this is just a visual.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Yeah, same thing. I'm looking at the crowd, and then I just see all of them stand up immediately after National Dorma. And just like, oh my goodness, that was the greatest thing ever, really. And for me, seeing him see that is like, oh right.

KC 24:15

It's a victory for the artist. No matter. I know that you've inspired Calvin. You've inspired him through your singing and through your humor. And I don't know if he still texts you, but I think he has your number every once in a while. You get text. He texts you with questions, with tech questions. Well, rightly so. But anyway.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Now it's it's that song. It just speaks through you.

KC 24:39

It's like old man river for real.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Nobody even knows what it means unless you're Italian. Right. It just sounds so good the way it builds, and it's technically difficult. It's just so moving.

KC 24:49

As a melody, there's just something about it. Yeah. You know, there's something about some music that does move just about the way it sounds. I don't know what it is, man. Think about you know, like Adagio for strings. And I know you guys do a vocal version of that at the cathedral. You can hum it. It doesn't have to have words. It's just yeah, it's beautiful and it moves people. So I love that. I'm glad that you're aware of that. I'm glad that you see that. I'm glad that you're looking for that as you perform because yeah, it's good to get a pause, but it feels great to make a difference and to be that thing for that person out there that is going through whatever that they needed, you know.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

Yeah.

KC 25:27

Anyway, what I appreciate about you is your versatility because going from a quartet, you know, on a mic to no mic on an acoustic setting, whether it's high church literature, Latin mass kind of stuff, or opera on stage, I just love the fact that you can switch gears and switch styles. And you know that it's not only a big deal to be able to do it, but it also allows for more work, it allows for more opportunities to sing, right? Before we cut this the camera off, I wanted to give you this gift here. You may or may not have seen these. I've had these for a minute or two, but as I thank you for coming on the still singing show.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

What do you keep an eye on?

KC 26:04

This is the t-shirt that I carry with me. Just keep singing. And I'm just so grateful for you to be a part of this. And if you want a gift receipt with that gift receipt, we'll take it back to William Sonoma. But man, thank you so much for coming tonight and be a part of this. I love singing with you. I'm so glad we're close to each other. And um, when we travel, you make me belly laugh. Calvin loves you. I appreciate all the attention you've given him. He hates that he wasn't here tonight. He's got quiet rehearsal himself. But um, anyway, man, I appreciate you. You too. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

You too. Thank you. I'm John Overholt, and I'm still singing.