Greta Pope is an American Singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

and Podcast Host. An international entertainer, Greta Pope and the Greta Pope Orchestra have performed throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She is the two-time winner of the International Music Festival in Bucharest, Romania where she also served as an English speaking television commentator. She was one of the first American entertainers to perform in Bucharest Romania after the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

. She is the daughter-in-law of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

's vocalist

Kay Davis Kathryn Elizabeth Wimp known professionally as Kay Davis (December 5, 1920 – January 27, 2012 in Apopka, Florida) was an American jazz singer who performed with the Duke Ellington orchestra. Davis was born in Evanston, Illinois, and attended Ev ...

. She owns and operates Greta Pope Entertainment, Inc.

Life

She was born Greta Denise Pope in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States, to Margaret Wickliffe Pope, a businesswoman and William Allen Pope, a mechanical engineer. In 1981, Greta Pope married Edward Lawson Wimp. They have one son, Edward Wickliffe Wimp.

Education

Pope attended Kennedy Elementary School. She also attended Woodward High School and sang in the Woodward High School Ensemble. She played violin in the Woodward Orchestra. She was also a member of The Cincinnati Youth Symphony. She played first violin under the baton of Cincinnati Symphony Concertmaster Sigmund Effron. She began playing piano at age 6 and violin at age 11. After graduating from The Western College with a liberal arts degree, she went to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

where she completed a Master of Music degree in vocal performance and pedagogy. She went on to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

for postgraduate vocal study with

Eileen Farrell Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed ...

. Pope holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Career

Film and TV

Pope has recorded many television and radio commercials. In 1970, she appeared in ''

The Strawberry Statement ''The Strawberry Statement'' is a non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen, written when he was 19, which chronicled his experiences at Columbia University from 1966–1968, particularly the April 1968 protests and takeover of the office of the dean ...

''.

Radio

Pope was producer, engineer, and host of ''Jazz and More!...with Greta Pope'', a weekly radio show that aired on WRHC-LP Radio Harbor Country in Three Oaks, Michigan

Podcast

Pope is the producer and host o
The Business Savvy Singer Podcast
providing a weekly conversations with professional singers with a variety of experience in the music industry.

Music

Pope has recorded four studio recordings. She has also recorded with Montenegrin singer

Zoran Kalezic Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia. Notable people with this given na ...

on the 2011 remake of his 1990 hit "Moj dobri andjele". Pope worked as a performer and as a

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

for

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park first opened in 1972 by the Taft Broadcasting Company. It was part of a larger effort to move and expan ...

. She performed shows with the

United Service Organization The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

throughout the Far East, Europe and America entertaining United States servicemen and servicewomen.

Author

She is the author of ''Music, Money & You: Managing the Business''.

Teaching and community

Pope is the Founder and Director of The Private Music Studio, a multi-disciplinary arts in education enrichment program that teaches music through singing, public speaking and proper use of the voice. She was elected to the

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, record ...

Chicago Board in 2013. Pope is an adjunct faculty member of the Chicago High School for the Arts (

ChiArts Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) is a public four–year college preparatory visual and performing arts high school located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Operated by the Chicago Public Schools d ...

). She also serves on the board of World Chicago. From 2006-2008, she served on the board of

Morgan Park Academy Morgan Park Academy (MPA) is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent day school serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade . It is located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1873, Morg ...

. Pope has also served on the board of the

Ronald McDonald House Charities Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC has a global network of c ...

. Along with her husband, a founding member, she has been heavily involved with the National McDonald's Black Owner's Association (NBMOA). In 2016, Pope was named Civic Chairman of the

Chicago Sinfonietta The Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is nationally and internationally acclaimed as a cultural leader and a powerful advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and is renowned for its groundbreaking, d ...

Ball. She is also the Governing Council Chair of Advocate Trinity Hospital, a sister hospital of

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (ALGH) is a 645-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital is the sixth largest hospital in the Chicago area, and i ...

Discography

* ''The Night Begins'' (2003) * ''Till There Was You'' (2009) * ''International Interlude'' (2013) * ''Dr. Greta Pope’s MOTOWN…Pride of the Motor City'' (2019)

Filmography

* ''

'' (1970)

References

External links

*
Articles.chicagotribune.comChicagotonight.wttw.comArticles.southbendtribune.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Greta Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American jazz singers Musicians from Cincinnati Jazz musicians from Ohio Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) alumni