Local Singer Helps Ice Dancers 'Imagine' Olympic Dreams

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — When American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates perform on Monday night at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the voice singing “Imagine” as they skate their long program will belong to Olivia Millerschin. Millerschin, 22, got the call to perform the cover from the track's arranger, violinist and composer Sonia Lee, seemingly out of the blue.

“It was sort of a random occurrence,” Millerschin told Patch. “Sonia Lee was the violinist and composer for the track. She contacted me late one night in the summer and said a lot of singers had tried out the track, and asked me to come to the studio right away. I did a couple of takes, and they said it was perfect, just what they needed.” Millerschin, whose voice is almost always described as “ethereal,” delivers a lush, haunting rendition of the John Lennon track. A finalist on America’s Got Talent, Millerschin is a lifelong Metro Detroit resident who continues to call Rochester home.

Millerschin delivered her “Imagine” performance late one night in a studio in Oakland County, learning only afterwards that the song would serve as the backing track for the reigning U.S. bronze medalists. Chock and Bates, who began skating together in 2011 and began dating in 2016, have had great success on the world stage. After finishing 8th at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the pair went on to win the U.S. ice dancing championship in 2015, and are also world ice dancing silver and bronze medalists.

Millerschin has seen the pair perform countless times on TV, and once in person, at a rehearsal in Novi, Michigan.

“A couple days before they left for Korea, I got to watch their practice. It was incredible,” she said. She plans to watch their live performance tonight, but worries emotion may get the best of her. “I’m just hoping I’m not crying too much, so I can actually watch. They’re at a next level in terms of artistry. The fact that I can be a small part of that is beyond me,” she said.

Millerschin will watch the skate and eat dinner at the Moose Preserve in Bloomfield Hills, assuming, she says, that the pair takes the ice before the Moose Preserve closes. As to where you should view the performance, Millerschin says the Moose Preserve is the place to be.

“Everyone is welcome — we’ll be there around 8 p.m.,” she said.

The Olympic Games air live on NBC tonight. Chock and Bates are already medalists — the U.S. finished with bronze in the skating teams event. Also slated to compete are fellow Michigan ice dancing pair Alex and Maia Shibutani, Ann Arbor’s famed “Shib Sibs,” who train with Chock and Bates in Novi. Heading into tonight’s long program, Chock and Bates are in 7th place, with the Shib Sibs in 4th. Less than a point separates the top pair, Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, from the pairs rounding out the top eight. The ice dancing finals begin at 8 p.m. Monday.

If you miss her tonight at the Moose Preserve, Olivia Millerschin will be performing at the Magic Stick on March 24, opening for Michigander. As for her future in ice skating, Millerschin, who’s an accomplished songwriter with an album of original work, says she’d relish the opportunity to compose for skaters.

“I’d love that — absolutely,” Millerschin said. “I’ve composed a lot of pieces for tv and film, and if anyone ever wanted me to compose a piece, I’d love to do that.”

She says Chock and Bates would have first shot at her compositions, if they liked.

“They’re my all time favorites,” she said. “What they do is so artistic and they’re good people.”

Photo of Sonia Lee and Olivia Millerschin courtesy of Olivia Millerschin.