Germany And The United States Take Home Medals In The American Vocal Arts 2019 International Collegiate Singing Championship
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 13, 2019
The winners of the American Vocal Arts 2019 International Collegiate Singing Championship (TM) have been announced! The winners have been chosen from all over the world. The competition, sponsored by American Vocal Arts, emphasizes competitive collegiate singing that spans across borders. The goal of the competition is to award the best singers from around the world who are currently enrolled or have recently graduated from an undergraduate or graduate program in music. The winners were selected based on talent, potential, and overall presentation.
"Although the competition is new, many wonderful singers from the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia submitted materials for consideration. When dreaming up this competition, I thought that vocalists, who are athletes in their own right, should represent their schools much like in the NCAA Championships. There is no other singing competition like this!" - Dr. Mitchell Hutchings, Chief Judge and Coordinator, 2019 International Collegiate Singing Championship
First Place
Carolina López Moreno, Soprano
School: Manhattan School of Music
Teacher: Edith Bers
From: Germany
Carolina López Moreno is a versatile, award winning soprano known for bringing 'drama, soft colors and empathy' (Stuttgarter Zeitung) to every performance.
Soprano Carolina López Moreno is the First Grand Prize winner of the Berliner International Music Competition 2018, and was awarded the Special Prize at the TV production SWR Young Opera Stars 2018. She is a recipient of the DAAD Scholarship, Richard Wagner Federation Scholarship of Richard Wagner Federation and the German Talent Scholarship of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Ms. López is currently studying under Edith Bers at Manhattan School of Music in her first-year of her Master's Degree where she made her New York City Debut and starred as the leading soprano Mariuccia in the production I Due Timidi at the Neidorff-Karpati Hall.
Other principal roles in Germany include; Street Scene (Rose Maurrant), Dialogues des Carmelites (Blanche) and Die Zauberflöte (Pamina). She has performed as a soloist in major works such as Bizet's Te Deum and Orff's Carmina Burana. In addition, she has given recitals in prestigious concert venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie and the Jugendstil-Festhalle Landau. Ms. López has recently released her debut album 'Il bel sogno' with ARS-Production Records. Future engagements in NYC include her Carnegie Hall Debut in April 2019.
Second Place
Johnathan McCullough, Baritone
School: Curtis Institute of Music
From: Pennsylvania, USA
Baritone Johnathan McCullough spends the 2017/18 season as an Emerging Artist at Opera Philadelphia where he sang Mr. Greatorex in the world premiere of Elizabeth Cree by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell, as well as Moralès in a new production of Carmen. At the Komische Oper Berlin, he will return for a new Calixto Bieto production of Schreker's Die Gezeichneten after his recent successful debut as Oromasès in a new production of Rameau's Zoroastre conducted by Christian Curnyn. He will cover the role of Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and spend the summer of 2018 as a Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera singing Brother in The Seven Deadly Sins (Weill) and Marullo in Rigoletto. In concert, he will sing Carmina Burana with the Boise Philharmonic and with the National Chorale at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.
He received a Bachelor of Music degree, Master of Music in Opera degree and Artist Diploma, all from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He has been a Young Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Aspen Music Festival.
Third Place
Meghan Kasanders, Soprano
School: The Juilliard School
Teacher: Edith Wiens
From: Illinois, USA
Hailed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as "...an important voice, big and opulent," Meghan Kasanders, is quickly gaining recognition as a promising young dramatic soprano. Ms. Kasanders is a second year Artist Diploma in Opera Studies student at the Juilliard School, where she studies with Edith Wiens. Last season, she was featured as Donna Anna in the Act 1 finale of Mozart's Don Giovanni in a live-streamed Masterclass with Maestro Yannick Nézet- Séguin from the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Kasanders was also heard on 105.9 WQXR, New York's Classical Music Radio Station in February and spent her summer debuting the role of Magda Sorel in Opera Saratoga's production of The Consul. This season, Ms. Kasanders will make her Carnegie Hall debut singing Bernstein's Songfest with Maestra Marin Alsop. Meghan will also make her Alice Tully Hall debut, singing Sibelius' Luonnatar under the direction of Barbara Hannigan in February. Ms. Kasanders was recently a featured artist in Modern Singer Magazine and has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Pittsburgh Festival Opera's Mildred Miller International Voice Competition and has worked with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Saratoga, Union Avenue Opera and the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Originally from the Chicago area, Meghan currently resides in New York City and holds a Bachelor's degree from Simpson College and a Master's from Rice University.
Audience Favorite
Laura Sanders, Soprano
School: Eastman School of Music
Teacher: Katherine Ciesinski
From: California, USA
San Francisco native Laura Corina Sanders is a rising young soprano currently residing in New York City. In April, Laura was one of the top prize winners of the 2018 Lotte Lenya Competition.
She received both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Katherine Ciesinski. While at Eastman, Laura was featured in major roles in several Eastman Opera Theatre productions, including Lucette in Cendrillon, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, and the title role in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. She was the first prize winner of the 2017 Friends of Eastman Opera competition, and the winner of the 2017 Voice Concerto competition, culminating in a rare performance of Hector Berlioz' cantata Herminie, H. 29 with the Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra.
In the summer of 2018, Laura joined Wolf Trap Opera as a Studio Artist. While at Wolf Trap she performed the title role in Listen, Wilhelmina!, covered the role of Ilia in Idomeneo, and was one of four soloists in The Art of Pleasure, a recital arranged, directed, and played by Steven Blier.
Other roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Oswego Opera and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Berlin Opera Academy. Laura will return to Oswego Opera in October 2018 as Adele in Die Fledermaus.
The 2019 ICSC Finalists:
Achilles Leonidas Bezanis, Tenor
School: Eastman School of Music
Teacher: Robert Swensen
From: Illinois, USA
Anna Montgomery, Soprano
School: Michigan State University
Teacher: Melanie Helton
From: Colorado, USA
Emily Helenbrook, Soprano
School: Rice University
Teacher: Stephen King
From: New York, USA
Grace Canfield, Soprano
School: The Juilliard School
Teacher: Julia Faulkner
From: Illinois, USA
Eleni Antonia Taluzek, Mezzo-soprano
School: Indiana University
Teacher: Timothy Noble
From: Illinois, USA
Ira Stecher, Tenor
School: Kansas City Conservatory
Teacher: Raymond Feener
From: Florida, USA
Karis Tucker, Mezzo-soprano
School: University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
Teacher: Amy Johnson
From: Ohio, USA
Laura Romero Arias, Soprano
School: Florida Atlantic University
Teacher: Patty Fleitas
From: Colombia/USA
Matthew Soibelman, Bass
School: California State University - Northridge
Teacher: David Sannerud
From: California, USA
May Claire La Plante, Soprano
School: University of Oxford
Teacher: Katharin Rundus
From: California, USA
Meagan Rao, Coloratura Soprano
School: San Francisco Conservatory
Teacher: César Ulloa
From: India/USA
Tiana Sorenson, Soprano
School: Northwestern University
Teacher: W. Stephen Smith
From: Wisconsin, USA
Tzytle Steinman, Mezzo-soprano
School: Northwestern University
Teacher: W. Stephen Smith
From: California, USA
2019 Finalist Judges:
American Vocal Arts
Contact Email: americanvocalarts@gmail.com
Used with permission, American Vocal Arts LLC
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