Holiday POPS 2024

Olivia Van Goor is a Detroit-based jazz vocalist, band leader, arranger, and composer. She has built a reputation for not only being an excellent vocalist, but a creative force to be reckoned with. Her hard work has yielded two EPs, first “When the Shadows Fall” in 2021 and the second being “Don’t Be Mad At Me” in August of 2023. These recordings have taken her to tour in surrounding major cities such as Ann Arbor, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Southbend, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Additionally, she received “Best Vocalist” for the Preservation of Jazz Excellence Award in Detroit, nominations by the Detroit Music Awards and recognition by many Michigan-based publications. Beyond recording, she has produced the show “Duets” with vocalist/bassist Reuben Stump exploring the history of vocal jazz duets and some of her own arrangements as well as an “Anita O’Day Tribute” in which she pays tribute to the legendary vocalist Anita O’Day. She has worked with musicians like Detroit pianist Scott Gwinnell, 2-time JUNO award winning vocalist Caity Gyorgy, and prolific Ann Arbor string bassist Paul Keller. Olivia continues to collaborate with many Michigan leaders in jazz in addition to surrounding midwest musicians to spread musical joy.

Olivia moved to Southeast Michigan in the winter of 2017 with her family, and fell in love with the Detroit music scene. She has performed at historic Detroit clubs such as Cliff Bell’s and Aretha’s Jazz Cafe at Music Hall, along with the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor. Rich with history and phenomenal world-class musicians, she has found a home where she continues to progress her craft.

Raised in Hudson, OH, Olivia learned how to play piano, sing in choirs, and eventually how to perform as a soloist. The love for music grew as she explored different avenues: choir, rock bands, and musical theatre. However, one outlet stood out against them all: jazz. In 2019, Olivia graduated from Denison University in Granville, OH with a bachelor’s degree in music & economics. She used that time to explore voice as her main instrument, learning from Dr. Stephanie Henkle and Dr. Carolyn Redman. She sang in the jazz ensembles under the instruction of saxophonist Pete Mills, and interned at Jazz Arts Group Columbus.

Carl Grapentine has enjoyed a 46-year career as a classical music radio host. He hosted the Morning Program on WFMT, Chicago’s classical station, for thirty years. He joined WFMT in 1986 after serving as the morning host of WQRS, the classical music station in Detroit, for thirteen years.

An alumnus of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance, Carl has been the stadium voice of the University of Michigan Marching Band since 1970—his voice being heard on national telecasts of seventeen Rose Bowls and numerous other bowl games. In 2006 he also assumed the post of game announcer at Michigan Stadium.

Carl presents pre-concert lectures for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles. He also hosts the National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis each spring. An accomplished conductor and singer, Carl has many years of experience as a church music director. He also has sung the national anthem for professional and collegiate sporting events at Wrigley Field, old and new Comiskey Park (now Guaranteed Rate Field), Tiger Stadium, the Pontiac Silverdome, and the University of Michigan’s Crisler Center.

Measure for Measure was founded in 1988 by five alumni of the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, to provide an opportunity for men to perform music composed and arranged for male chorus. Under the leadership of its founding conductor, Dr. Leonard L. Riccinto, Measure for Measure debuted with seventeen singers in April 1989.

Measure for Measure has appeared at conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, Michigan School Vocal Music Association, Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses, Inc, and the International Male Choral Symposium. Measure for Measure collaborates annually with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and has also enjoyed performances with the Detroit, Flint, Oakland, Plymouth, Rochester, and Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestras. Measure for Measure has toured throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, and collaborated with acclaimed soloists including George Shirley, Ara Berberian, Glenda Kirkland, and Jennifer Larson.

The men of Measure for Measure embrace the belief that singing is for a lifetime, and every season hold concerts that encourage young men to continue singing. Measure for Measure’s efforts to promote male choral singing have led to collaborations with the men’s choruses from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Azusa Pacific University, Ball State University, Bowling Green State University, Grand Valley State University, Miami University (OH), and Ohio University, among others.

Measure for Measure has performed several benefit concerts for charitable organizations including Dawn Farm, Hope Clinic, United Way, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital – Pontiac, Mott’s Children’s Hospital, Save-A-Heart Foundation, Saline Area Social Services, Eastern Michigan University music department scholarships, Branch United Youth Choir, and a project sponsored by the Livingston Arts Council to restore the Howell Opera House.

Winner of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Earl Lee is a renowned Korean-Canadian conductor who has captivated audiences worldwide. Earl is in his second season as Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and in his third season as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he has led in subscription concerts both at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood.

In addition to a full season of concerts with the Ann Arbor Symphony and subscription concerts with the Boston Symphony in Boston and at Tanglewood, Earl’s 23/24 season includes guest conducting engagements with the Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, The Florida Orchestra, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra Toronto. Previous seasons have seen subscription debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Hawaii Symphony, and Edmonton Symphony; leading the Lunar New Year galas of both the New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony; and concerts with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and with Sejong Soloists in both New York and Seoul.

Earl previously held positions as Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and as the Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony. In 2022, he appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam as a participant in the Ammodo masterclasses led by Fabio Luisi.

Earl’s 23/24 programs with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra include contemporary works by John Adams, Brian Raphael Nabors, Joan Towers, Gala Flagello, Jessie Montgomery, and Zhou Tian as well as the first installment of a multi-year Beethoven cycle with Symphonies Nos. 2, 5 and 9. He leads the orchestra in its Detroit Orchestra Hall debut in January 2024 in a concert during the Sphinx Organizations’s annual SphinxConnect convention.

In all of his professional activities, Earl seeks ways to connect with fellow musicians and audiences on a personal level. He has taken great pleasure in mentoring young musicians as former Artistic Director and Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and is a regular guest conductor with the orchestras of North America’s top music schools such as Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School,  and the New England, San Francisco, and Royal Conservatories.

As a cellist, Earl has performed at festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Caramoor Rising Stars, and Ravinia’s Steans Institute and has toured as a member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), with Musicians from Marlboro, and with Gary Burton & Chick Corea as a guest member of the Harlem String Quartet.

Earl was the recipient of the 50th Anniversary Heinz Unger Award from the Ontario Arts Council in 2018, of a Solti Career Assistance Award in 2021 and has been awarded a Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship by Kurt Masur and the Ansbacher Fellowship by the American Austrian Foundation and members of the Vienna Philharmonic. He studied cello at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School and conducting at Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory. He lives in New York City with his wife and their daughter.