1) When is the Voice Competition?
a. The preliminary rounds of the Jensen Foundation Voice Competition are held in May each year.  See the Important Dates for more specific information. The finals, which are open to the public, are held on a Saturday immediately following the preliminaries and include a reception and opportunity for audition feedback for the finalists. ALL APPLICANTS MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE ENTIRE FINALS ON SATURDAY.

2) How frequently is the Voice Competition held?
a. The voice competition is held annually.

3) Where is the competition held?
a. The competition is held in New York City. Our current location is in the beautiful Engleman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center.

4) What are the qualifications?
a. Eligible singers are 25-35 years old, US citizens or permanent residents for at least one year, and not a past or current recipient of a contract with an OPERA America Budget Level I company or its international equivalent (not including cover roles, chorus or apprentice/young artist programs).

5) How do I apply?
a. The application is submitted electronically via YAP Tracker here.    Applications are not accepted past the deadline and earlier is better.

You do not need to be a paying subscriber to YAP Tracker to complete the application form...a guest account will also access the application.  A tutorial on the online application process is also available.  The full list of applications available through YAP Tracker is available from their homepage without login--on the right column select "Available applications" under the Application Tools section.

6) What is the application fee?
a. The application fee is $35 and is not refundable.   It covers the adminstrative costs associated with processing the application, as well as credit card and registration tool costs.

7) How many audition spaces are available and how our audition spaces filled?
a. This year the competition has 150 audition time slots. Applicants are encouraged to apply early as spaces fill quickly.   

8) Is there a waitlist for the competition?
a. The Foundation will create a waitlist of qualified applicants when the competition number reaches 150. Names are frequently pulled off of the waitlist and offered an audition slot. Those singers that are offered a slot but are unsure of their availability are encouraged to release their audition time as we have many qualified applicants waiting in the wings. All applicants offered a position on the waitlist will be notified of status and procedures after the initial audition schedule is released.

9) May I bring my own accompanist?
a. Yes, you may bring your own accompanist. However, we provide an accompanist free of charge for any participant. Our accompanists in the past have been Joan Krueger, Dan Franklin Smith and William Hicks—highly regarded accompanists in the New York area.

10) Can anyone attend the finals?
a. The finals are free and open to the public. Singers that do not make the finals are highly encouraged to attend to observe and join us at the reception.

11) Who are the judges?
a. The preliminary rounds are judged by Jensen Foundation Board members—all current musical professionals. The finals are judged by guest judges, rotating each year, chosen from opera professionals experienced in adjudication. The finals judges do not attend the preliminary rounds and have no communication with the preliminary judges until after the finalists have been chosen. The final's judges are given a specific set of instructions to follow and decisions are based on that day's performance only.

13) How are auditions scheduled?
a. The preliminary rounds are scheduled typically with locally-based singers during the beginning of the week and those traveling from out of town scheduled at the end of the week. Throughout the day, an attempt is made to vary the voice types and stagger those bringing an accompanist to give our pianists a break. While we try to be accommodating in scheduling, we cannot make changes once the schedule is published and a specific audition time cannot be guaranteed.

14) When do singers find out if granted an audition?
a.  All those singers that are granted an audition will be notified via email of acceptance following the deadline.  See the Important Dates for more specific information.