Winners Of Hal Leonard Vocal Competition Announced

Hal Leonard, the world leader in vocal music, has announced the winners of the tenth annual Hal Leonard Vocal Competition for young classical and theatre singers, comprised entirely of YouTube video entries. There were over 1100 entries in the 2020 competition in two divisions: Art Song and Musical Theatre, with four age categories for each, children through college undergraduates. Hal Leonard gave away more than $10,000 in cash prizes and gift certificates to encourage singers to build a music library for their studies.

There is no entry fee or travel cost to an audition site for the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition, unlike almost every other music competition. Singers from all over the U.S. and Canada can compete with others in their age group and view videos online. One of the aims of the competition is for singers to hear other singers of similar age and learn from one another. Another aim of the competition is to recognize the good work of the voice teachers who fostered these young talented performers. Playlists of results in each category may be viewed on the Hal Leonard Vocal YouTube channel.

First Place Winners for 2020 in Art Song: College/University Undergraduates (ages 18-23): Merissa Beddows from Curtis Institute of Music • High School Voices (ages 16-18): Caitlin Chisham of Derby, Kansas • Early Teen Voices (ages 13-15): Janice Chong of Saratoga, California • Children's Voices (ages 12 and under): Katherine Ryan of Pearl River, New York.

First Place Winners for 2020 in Musical Theatre: Young Adult Voices (ages 18-23): Angel Tolbert of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor • High School Voices (ages 16-18): Anna Zavelson of Austin, Texas • Early Teen Voices (ages 13-15): Ellie Brenner of Durand, Wisconsin • Children's Voices (ages 12 and under): Charlotte MacLeod of New York, New York.

Rick Walters, Vice-President of Classical & Vocal Publications at Hal Leonard, and founder of the competition, states, "Especially this year, in these challenging times, it was inspiring to watch the videos of all the dedicated young singers. We appreciate all the pianists, voice teachers, and parents for their efforts in making the videos. We are very encouraged about the future of singing in North America."

The rules, required repertoire and prizes, as well as top placing videos for 2020 and previous years may be found at halleonard.com/vocalcomp.