Singing has been a part of Mike’s life ever since he was little though his on stage confidence was something he had to work on. His first solo performance was for his 5th grade assembly. “My teacher wanted someone to sing a solo. She heard me humming one day and told me she would give me a little extra credit if I sang, so I did. […] I was shaking and super nervous,” he recalls. His fright couldn’t keep him off the stage however, and he began to get heavily involved with all of the vocal groups he could. “At one point I was in 9 choirs at one time” he told me chuckling. As the years went by, the ensembles grew smaller and his confidence began to grow. In 8th grade he realized he wanted to pursue singing as a career though it wasn’t until he was a senior in high school that he realized he could.
“I didn’t have voice lessons until I got to Lawrence,” Mike says as he recalls the start of his Lawrence career. Now, about to finish up his senior year, his vocal career has come a long way since his Boys to Men assembly solo. In his sophomore year he was singing in a lot of jam bands at Sinfonia house and by his junior Year he had begun his increasingly popular group Mike Pope and the Papal Schisms. Maybe most known around campus most for his vocal contributions, there are many other things this busy senior is filling his time with. On top of completing his vocal performance major, Mike is also the tech crew student leader for Warch Campus Center, the lead singer for his band, and heavily involved in the off campus organization The Outer Edge Stage, to name a few.
What does the future look like for this well rounded vocal major? He aspires to be a professional singer and plans to continue his education after Lawrence in both voice and sound engineering. Though he is uncertain of exactly where he is heading off to next year, he is sure it will be a big city like his Chicago hometown. “My dream job in 10 years would be working for myself as a freelance musician doing gigs I want to do, opera gigs maybe” he concludes. He is definitely well on his way there with both experience and a good amount of confidence under his belt, and will be a fellow Lawrentian you will want to keep an eye out for in the future. To his fellow aspiring musician he has these words of advice: “Do you. Do whatever it is that makes you happy. Be who you are and ignore the bullshit. So many people are “experts” about things they don’t know anything about. Don’t give up on yourself unless everyone else has.”
Thanks for the interview Mike and have a great last year on campus! We know you and your talents will be missed!
Photo Credit: Spenser Steele