Winners: VOCALISTS (women in art song/oratorio)—The American Prize in Vocal Performance—The Friedrich & Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards, 2021

 

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Schorr as Wotan, Bayreuth

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is honored to announce the winners and runners-up of The American Prize in Vocal Performance—women in art song and oratorio, 2021—The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards. Congratulations! 

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

COVID EXTENSIONS to APPLY for 2022: Because of the current national and international situation, many rules have been changed and requirements eased to make it easier to apply for The American Prize, 2022. In addition, application deadlines have been extended with further extensions available by email request. 

Applications from COMPOSERS, CLASSICAL VOCALISTS, PIANISTS, CHAMBER ENSEMBLES and INSTRUMENTAL SOLOISTS will be accepted through the revised deadline of Tuesday, July 20, 2021. 

Applications from CONDUCTORS, STAGE DIRECTORS, CONDUCTED ENSEMBLES, ARTS ADMINISTRATORS (arts marketing, arts education) in the performance of American Music (BACON AWARD) and in the new category of VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE will be accepted until Tuesday, July 20, 2021. 

Visit theamericanprize.org for complete contest information.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award honors the memory of the greatest Wagnerian baritone of his age, Friedrich Schorr, who commanded the operatic stage between the world wars, and his wife, Virginia Schorr, who taught studio voice at the Manhattan School of Music and the Hartt School of Music for nearly fifty years. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best performances by classically trained vocalists in America, based on submitted recordings.

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—women in art song & oratorio (professional division),  2021, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize Winner
Loralee Songer        
Muncie IN

Loralee Songer  

Loralee Songer, mezzo-soprano, is an active recitalist, opera and oratorio performer, conductor, and educator. She holds a doctor of arts degree in vocal performance and choral conducting from Ball State University and teaches applied voice, conducting, and other music-related courses at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Songer made her DCINY Artist Series Debut at Carnegie Hall in 2019. Songer is the author of Songs of the Second Viennese School: A Performer’s Guide to Selected Solo Vocal Works, in which she outlines for singers and voice teachers critical information on selected solo vocal works by three major classical composers active during the first half of the twentieth century: Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern. For too long, the remarkable vocal works of these composers have received insufficient attention.


2nd Place:
Jacquelyn Matava   
San Antonio TX  

Jacquelyn Matava   

Praised for her “warm sound” and “soothing legato line,” mezzo-soprano Jacquelyn Matava most recently won 3rd prize in the 2020 National Opera Association Vocal Competition and was named a national semifinalist in the 2020 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition. She made her Kennedy Center debut as a finalist in the Washington International Competition in 2019, performing with the Washington Chamber Orchestra and was a 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions District Winner. She has sung with the Tanglewood Music Center, Lucerne Festival Academy, Crested Butte Music Festival, Opera San Antonio, Alamo City Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.   A native of Farmington, CT, Matava holds music degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Vassar College, and teaches on the faculty at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. www.jacquelynmatava.com

3rd Place (there was a tie):
Lenora Green-Turner 

Macon GA 

                Lenora Green-Turner 

Soprano, Lenora Green-Turner, native from Macon, Georgia, is recognized as one of America’s most loved sopranos with her full warm, gorgeous, lyrical voice.  Hailed by Opera News as an impressive vocalist and NYTimes as a most expressive singer. Some of her roles include; Mimi (La Boheme), Mary (Highway 1, U.S.A.), Countess Susanna (Il Segreto di Susanna); First Lady (The Magic Flute), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), title role Suor Angelica, Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), High Priestess (Aida), Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann). She is a member of vocal ensemble, EXIGENCE directed by Dr. Eugene Rogers. She was Artist-in-Residence for LeMoyne Owen College, Stax Music Academy and Opera Memphis. Awards; Jane Willson Emerging Artist award, Leo Rogers Scholarship/Sarasota Opera Guild; MONC Encouragement Award, regional NATS, William Knight Competition, MTNA Young Artist Program. A student of Dr. Louise Toppin, degrees held: DMA & MM; University of Michigan, Perf. Diploma; Indiana University. www.lenoragreensoprano.com

3rd Place (there was a tie):
Camelia Voin   
Loma Linda CA

Camelia Voin   

Camelia Voin is a lyric coloratura soprano who performed throughout the United States and abroad as an operatic, oratorio and recital soloist. She appeared in recitals and opera productions on some of the world's most important stages, including Carnegie Hall, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Teatro Gayaree in Pamplona,  West Palm Beach Opera, Los Angeles Music Center, Romanian National Opera  in Bucharest, Nevada State Opera in Las Vegas.   Camelia Voin’s voice has led her to prize wins in more than a dozen competitions: Singer of the Year at NATS competition, Metropolitan Opera Competition, Giuseppe Verdi Award in Palm Beach, Concurso Internacional de Canto Julián Gayarre, president of the jury José Carreras and others. Voin completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at Claremont Graduate University and is currently on the voice faculties of the University of California Riverside, Claremont Graduate University and California Baptist University.  cameliavoin.com

Special Judges' Citation: "Championing the Music of Robert Owens"
Jamie Reimer  
Papillion NE

Jamie Reimer 

Soprano Jamie Reimer has performed in opera, oratorio and recital venues around the United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil, and Australia. Concert appearances include performances of Mozart Requiem, Messiah, Chants d’Auvergne, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Choral Fantasy, and Liszt’s Christus for the American Liszt Society’s international festival. Favorite operatic repertoire includes Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflote), and Anna Maurrant (Street Scene). Reimer’s interest in contemporary American art song focuses on the life and work of composer Robert Owens. In 2012, she gave the world premiere of Owens’ 4 Sonnets to Eleonora Duse, composed for her voice, and performed the role of Ursula in the North American premiere of his opera Culture! Culture! in 2015. Her CD, The Last Songs of Robert Owens, will be released by Centaur Records in Winter 2021.

Finalist Honorable Mention:
Malinda Haslett  
Gorham ME

Malinda Haslett  

Soprano Malinda Haslett is internationally recognized as a performer and scholar. She earned her doctorate while simultaneously performing leading operatic roles in Europe’s most prized concert houses. Selected performances include Royal Opera House (London, UK), solo recitals in Beirut (Lebanon), Danang (Vietnam), and Berlin Konzerthaus. In a signature role as Violetta, Paris’ Le Soir wrote “Ravishing, she misses not one not of elegance”. She has sung solo recitals for two sitting presidents and volunteered teaching music in the Middle East and Africa. In the United States, Ms. Haslett’s portrayal as Pamina was reviewed by Opera News as having been sung “with such meltingly limpid phrases that the audience held its collective breath.” Other leading roles of note are Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Mimì and Musetta in La Bohème, Norina in Don Pasquale, Nannetta in Falstaff, and Leïla in Les pêcheurs des Perles. www.malindahaslett.com

Finalist Honorable Mention:
Erin Roth Thomas   
Plano TX

Erin Roth Thomas   

Praised by TheaterJones for possessing “a voice of surprising power and emotion”, mezzo soprano Erin Roth Thomas regularly performs as a concert soloist, singing a vast repertoire ranging from Bach’s Magnificat to Danielpour’s An American Requiem. Equally comfortable on the opera stage, she has performed numerous roles, including Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, and most recently, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors.  Based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Erin frequently performs as a chorister and soloist with some of the finest ensembles in the area, including Orpheus Chamber Singers, Verdigris Ensemble, Dallas Bach Society, Incarnatus, and Highland Park Chorale, as well as providing worship music for many DFW churches.  From Lufkin, Texas, and a proud graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, Erin lives with her husband, Chad, and the best dog in the world, Reggie. 

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—women in art song & oratorio (college/university division),  2021, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize Winner
Solene Le Van        
Anaheim CA

Solene Le Van        

Solène Le Van is a 23-year-old lyric coloratura whose artistic activities have taken her across several continents. This season, she was invited to perform as a soloist with the Teatro Nuovo Bel Canto Festival Orchestra as well as the Burbank Philharmonic (Grand Prize Winner of the Hennings-Fischer Young Artist Competition). A recipient of the Ernst Bacon Award for American Music for her interpretation of Barber’s Knoxville, she has also sung the soprano solos in Handel’s Messiah under the baton of John Butt at American Handel Society, selections by Massenet, Puccini, and Donizetti with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, premieres of orchestrated mélodies with the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra, and   the role of Maria in West Side Story with the RCM Orchestra. A recording with Peer Music Records featuring her singing with the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra of Spain under the baton of José Serebrier will be released this year. Solene was accepted to Princeton at fifteen. A two-time winner of the Princeton Concerto Competition, she also played Cunegonde and the Königin der Nacht in concert staging as well as La Musica (L’Orfeo) under the directorship of ENO director Tom Guthrie. In 2016, Ms. Le Van attended the Royal College of Music in London in a dual study program in voice and violin, receiving first class honors with distinction. A frequent recitalist, she has been engaged nationally and internationally, notably at the Brunneby Concert Series (Sweden), the LA Philharmonic Affiliates, Carnegie Hall, and the Vianden Festival (Luxembourg) under the patronage of the US Embassy. Ms. Le Van will soon release her debut recording of French melodies featuring world premieres. She is a two-time laureate of the Opera Buffs Grant and a winner of the French Embassy Cultural Services Award, the Camille Coloratura Awards, the David W. Scott Competition, and the David Weiss Scholarship. www.solenelevan.net  

2nd Place:
Kim Kenny        
Fishers IN

Kim Kenny        

Indianapolis-based singer, songwriter, and musician Kim Kenny has been performing for as long as she can remember. Encouraged by her parents, she began singing and playing the piano in the family’s church when she was just eight years old. As a child, Kim could often be found on the piano singing and composing her own songs. In her teenage years, her study of classical voice and jazz landed her a scholarship to Marian University to purse Vocal Performance. While in college, Kim balanced school work along with a budding professional singing career. Upon graduating from Marian University, she emerged in the field of education as piano accompanist and choral director. Today, she is a proud Butler University alum, where she obtained her masters of Music. Kim balances her multi-faceted career all while being a dedicated mother to her beautiful daughter, Charity. www.kimkennyllc.com

3rd Place:
Thereza Dinorah Lituma       
Chicago IL

Thereza Dinorah Lituma       

Mezzo-soprano, THEREZA LITUMA, is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she studied under the tutelage of Professor Sylvia Stone. There, she performed the role of Lucretia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. Her past opera credits also include Ježibaba/Third Wood Sprite (Rusalka), the Owl (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Albanact (King Arthur). In the summer of 2019, she was a Project Inclusion Voice Fellow with the Grant Park Music Festival, where she had the opportunity to perform as a soloist in multiple Chicago summer concert series and as a professional chorus member with the Grant Park Chorus. She made her Italian debut at the Scuola Italia Summer Program for Young Opera Singers. Thereza will be continuing her graduate studies in Vocal Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois. therezalituma.com

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—women in art song & oratorio (high school division),  2021, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize Winner
Peggy Yin        
Port Jefferson NY

Peggy Yin        

Peggy Yin is the valedictorian 2021 at Port Jefferson School District, NY with the honors of All-State vocalist and flautist, and All-Eastern vocalist. She has been studying voice and flute for 9 years.  She studied voice at Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Precollege program for 3 years and was on the dean's list.  In the last two years she won first place in five international vocal competitions and was a finalist of both the Art Song and Music Theater categories of 2021 Hal Leonard Vocal competition. She performed solos at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall and other major stages.  Peggy also enjoys writing her own songs and premiered her composition for octet in MSM Precollege Student Composers' Concert. Peggy has strived to bring communities together through her roles ranging from President of her school Tri-M Music Honor Society to Youth Ambassador for Concerts in Motion.  During the pandemic, Peggy has been performing in and emceeing many live virtual concerts for socially isolated seniors. She has been awarded the Presidential Service Award yearly since 2015, and is a Coca-Cola Scholar semifinalist; National Merit Scholarship Finalist; Asset Scholarship, Scope scholarship and Battelle Scholarship recipient.

2nd Place:
Eloise Fox        
Landenberg PA

Eloise Fox        

Eloise Fox, Soprano, has studied classical voice for six years. She is a student in the Juilliard Pre-College Vocal Arts Program in Lorraine Nubar’s studio. She is also a member of her High School Chorale. Eloise placed 3rd in the 2021 Hal Leonard Competition High School Art Song category, and was a finalist in the Fall 2020 Schmidt Vocal Competition. She attended the 2020 Summer Solo Vocal Artist Program at Westminster Choir College, and Interlochen Intermediate Vocal Arts Camp in 2017. She enjoys theater and opera, operetta, and has performed in eight full productions of works by Gilbert and Sullivan. She will be performing on the Restart Stage in Lincoln Center this June.  

3rd Place:
Isabel Hernandez      
Winnetka IL

Isabel Hernandez      

Isabel Hernandez is a 16 year old junior at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL.  This past year, she was awarded first place at the 2019 NATS Competition (Classical) and second place in the national Hal Leonard Vocal Competition.  At age 14, Isabel placed third in the national New York Lyric Opera Competition and performed at the National Opera Center.  Isabel has been a featured soloist with Youth Choral Theater of Chicago, IMPACT Acapella group, 1er Festival Coral Infantil in Puerto Vallarta, PBS Sponsored Celebration of Music and the Divine Mercy Adult Choir.  Isabel is proficient in german, french and spanish and has had the privilege of studying with Lorraine Nubar (Juilliard) at the Academie Internationale d’été de Nice and spending a semester at Max Reger Gymnasium in Amberg, Germany.  Isabel enjoys cantoring at her local church and singing for residents of the local assisted living facility. 

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Congratulations!