42nd Annual George London Foundation Awards Competition for Singers Runs Now thru March 1

Over three days of preliminary auditions today, February 25 through the 27th, 2013, approximately 90 of the best young American and Canadian opera singers will compete to reach the final round of the 42nd annual George London Foundation Awards Competition.

On Friday, March 1, approximately 25 finalists will perform for the judges and audience, hoping to win a George London Award, an honor that has been conferred upon hundreds of the best young singers since 1971.

The singers will be competing for six George London Awards and six George London Encouragement Awards:

Two George London Awards of $10,000
One George London Award, in memory of Lloyd Rigler, of $10,000
One George London/Leonie Rysanek Award of $10,000
One George London Award given to a Canadian singer, of $10,000
One George London/Kirsten Flagstad Award sponsored by the New York Community Trust, of $10,000, given to a potential Wagnerian singer
Six George London Encouragement Awards of $1,000

In addition, all of the finalists who do not win George London Awards or Encouragement Awards will be given a $500 Honorable Mention.

The competition's final round is a public event: each singer performs one selection, and the winners are then announced, all at The Morgan Library & Museum's Gilder Lehrman Hall on Friday, March 1, 2013, at 4:00 PM. After the finalists' performances, the audience is invited to a reception while the judges deliberate. Once the awards have been decided upon, the audience is invited back for the announcement of the winners.

Tickets for the competition's final round are priced at $20, $10 for subscribers to the George London Foundation Recital Series. For tickets, information, or to join London Foundation mailing list, call (212) 956-2809, or e-mail info@georgelondon.org.

This year's panel of judges includes soprano Harolyn Blackwell, opera stage director Bruce Donnell, former Metropolitan Opera administrator Alfred F. Hubay, George London Foundation President Nora London, mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, former Metropolitan Opera leading tenor and current voice professor George Shirley, and performing arts consultant Thurmond Smithgall. The competition pianist is Linda Hall.

The 2012 George London Award winners were baritone Brandon Cedel, contralto Suzanne Hendrix, mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa, soprano Chloé Moore, baritone Zachary Nelson, and soprano Corinne Winters.

Since 1971, the annual competition of The George London Foundation for Singers has been giving its George London Awards, and a total of more than $2 million, to an outstanding roster of young American and Canadian opera singers who have gone on to international stardom - the list of past winners includes Christine Brewer, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Catherine Malfitano, James Morris, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Neil Shicoff, and Dawn Upshaw.

One of the oldest vocal competitions in the United States and Canada, the George London Foundation Awards Competition offers among the most substantial awards.

As is seldom the case in musical competitions, no fee is charged to the applicants or competitors, a pianist is provided for the competition rounds, and prizes are awarded immediately.

The goal of the London Foundation, the support and nurturing of young singers, was an abiding interest of the great American bass-baritone George London, who devoted a great part of the time and energy of his later years to this purpose. "Remembering his difficult road to success, George wanted to devise a way to make the road a little easier for future generations of singers," said George London Foundation President Nora London. Initially created under the auspices of the National Opera Institute, the George London Awards program has been administered since 1990 directly by the Foundation as a living legacy to George London's own exceptional talent and generosity.

Friday, March 1, 2013, at 4:00 PM
Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York City

The George London Foundation for Singers presents
The 42nd Annual George London Foundation Awards Competition -
Final Round and Awards Presentation

Tickets: $20, $10 to George London Foundation Recital Series subscribers. For reservations and information, call (212) 956-2809, or e-mail info@georgelondon.org. Visit www.georgelondon.org for more information.

George London Award Winners 1971-2012- A Selected List

John Aler
Kathleen Battle
Isabel Bayrakdarian
Rockwell Blake
Russell Braun
Christine Brewer
Measha Brüggergosman
Amy Burton
Vinson Cole
Barbara Daniels
Alexandra Deshorties
Michelle DeYoung
Joyce DiDonato
Brent Ellis
Faith Esham
Maria Ewing
Ruth Falcon
Renée Fleming
Davis Gaines
Jake Gardner
Christine Goerke
Ruth Golden
Sheri Greenawald
Cris Groenendaal
Jill Grove
Eric Halfvarson
Gordon Hawkins
Alan Held
Barbara Hendricks
Gwendolyn Jones
Isola Jones
Kim Alan Josephson
Kyle Ketelsen
Dominique Labelle
Anthony Laciura
Margaret Lattimore
Victoria Livengood
Catherine Malfitano
Marvis Martin
Mary Ann McCormick
Bejun Mehta
Susanne Mentzer
Erie Mills
Leona Mitchell
Latonia Moore
James Morris
Mark Oswald
Eric Owens
Sean Panikkar
Dimitri Pittas
Deborah Polaski
Matthew Polenzani
Ashley Putnam
Florence Quivar
Sondra Radvanovsky
Gianna Rolandi
Lisa Saffer
Neil Shicoff
Marietta Simpson
Diana Soviero
Maria Spacagna
Richard Stilwell
Thomas Studebaker
Dawn Upshaw
James Valenti
Carol Vaness
Jon Fredric West
Willard White
Louise Wohlafka
Erin Wood

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