Olivia Glod

• Schmidt Vocal Competition 2024-2025 Illinois Region - 3rd Place (qualified for national competition)
• Schmidt Vocal Competition 2023-2024 Illinois Region - 3rd Place (qualified for national competition)
• CCNATS 2024 Classical Upper High School Division - 2nd Place
• Shirley Rabb Winston Scholarship in Classical Voice 2024 - 1st Place
• Sinfonietta Bel Canto Vocal Competition 2024 Teen/Collegiate Category - 2nd Place
• 3rd National Stanisław Jopek Vocal Competition (III Ogólnopolski Konkurs im. Stanisława Jopka) - Honorable Mention
• CCNATS 2023 Classical Lower High School Division - Finalist
• Sinfonietta Bel Canto Vocal Competition 2023 Teen Stars Category - Finalist

Olivia Glod is a soprano from the Chicago area. She has loved singing from a very young age, but she began her journey of performing in 5th grade, when she joined Polonia Ensemble Chicago, a Polish folk song and dance ensemble, in order to learn more about her family’s culture. With Polonia, she sang and danced a variety of traditional Polish dances and songs, performing as a soloist for the ensemble. In 7th grade Olivia joined Spirito! Singers, a selective youth treble choir in the Chicago suburbs. With Spirito!, she was able to significantly grow her knowledge of music theory as well as choral performance. At 15, she traveled to New York City with Spirito! and performed in St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Carnegie Hall as part of the National Concert Chorus. Soon after, Olivia began studying voice privately with Lisa Griffith, and found her love for classical music. During her sophomore year, she began participating in vocal competitions, becoming a finalist in both the Sinfonietta Bel Canto and Chicago Chapter NATS competitions. That summer she took part in the Colorado Vocal Institute, where she refined her technique on multiple pieces under the instruction of Dr. and Mrs. Best from Baylor University. At 16 she traveled to Seattle, Washington to perform at the Polish Festival Seattle, performing various compositions by Frédéric Chopin and many well-known Polish folk songs by Tadeusz Sygietyński and Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska. In October of 2023 she traveled to Poland to compete in the final round of the 3rd National Stanisław Jopek Vocal Competition (III Ogólnopolski Konkurs im. Stanisława Jopka), hosted by the national folk ensemble Mazowsze, where she earned an honorable mention. Since then, she has competed and placed in various other competitions, including the Schmidt Vocal Competition Illinois Regional. She competed during both the ‘23/’24 and ‘24/’25 seasons and placed 3rd both times. During the summer before her senior year, Olivia participated in the Bel Canto in Tuscany vocal program. She took lessons, coachings, and acting classes from various faculty members, including Prof. Delores Ziegler of the University of Maryland, Prof. LeFebvre of Oberlin Conservatory, Patrick O’Donnell of Peabody Conservatory, and Prof. JR Fralick of Baldwin Wallace University. Olivia hopes to continue competing and performing wherever she can, and plans pursuing vocal performance as a career in the future.