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Vote for YOUR Winner of the 2021 Jensen Competition
UPDATED May 17, 2021 - You can help choose our 2021 People’s Choice winner of the 2021 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. Each of our 21 Finalists has chosen an aria to present. Watch the performances, and at the end, cast your vote. The singer who wins the most People’s Choice votes receives $500, in addition to any other awards.
As a reminder, here are all the awards are singers could win:
First place - $15,000
Second place - $10,000
Third place - $7,500
Munday Encouragement Award - $3,000 and automatic entry into the 2022 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition
People’s Choice - $500
Remaining finalists - $750
The winners of the 2021 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition are announced Tuesday, May 18. Sign up for our newsletter, and be the first to hear who won!
And the 2021 Finalists Are...
POSTED APRIL 18, 2021 – CHARLOTTE, NC – After five weeks of evaluating video-auditions from 135 aspirants, the Jensen Foundation today announced the Finalists to its 2021 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. They are:
Alexandria Shiner | Soprano
Anthony Ciaramitaro | Tenor
Blake Denson | Baritone
Danielle Beckvermit | Soprano
Duke Kim | Tenor
Emily Margevich | Soprano
Jana McIntyre | Soprano
Jose Simerilla Romero | Tenor
Kaileigh Riess | Soprano
Katerina Burton | Soprano
Kathryn Henry | Soprano
Lauren Decker | Contralto
Leah Brzyski | Soprano
Lindsay Kate Brown | Mezzo-Soprano
Matthew Hill | Tenor
Megan Moore | Mezzo-Soprano
Mikayla Sager | Soprano
Sarah Vautour | Soprano
Stephanie Sanchez | Mezzo-Soprano
Sylvia D’Eramo | Soprano
Véronique Filloux | Soprano
These twenty-one singers compete for more than $47,000 in awards in the coming weeks. The Jensen Foundation hosts a People’s Choice Vote May 3-May 9, featuring one video for each Finalist. Finalists also are judged by a distinguished panel of Finals Judges: Gregory Buchalter, Wendy Bryn Harmer, and Margo Garrett. Read more about our Finals Judges. Singers compete for:
$15,000, First Place Award
$10,000, Second Place Award
$7,500, Third Place Award
$3,000, Munday Encouragement Award
Each non-award-winning finalist receives $750.
People’s Choice Winner receives $500.
The Jensen Foundation thanks its judges for the Preliminary Round of the 2021 Competition: Carleen Graham, Houston Grand Opera; Ben Leaptrott of Brenau University; and Oliver Worthington of Butler University. Read more about our Preliminary Judges.
About the Fritz & Lavinia Jensen Foundation
The Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation is a a Donor-Advised Fund of Foundation For The Carolinas, established by Lavinia Jensen in honor of her late husband, Fritz Jensen. Their lifelong love for the arts has benefited many musicians and musical organizations. The Foundation continues their philanthropic passion for the musical arts by supporting young artists pursuing a career in opera. The centerpiece of The Jensen Foundation’s work is the annual Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. Since the Competition’s inception in 2000, and including this year’s award winners, 409 singers have received more than $796,000 in support.
Our Esteemed Accompanists for the 2021 Finals
Finalists for our 2021 Vocal Competition may opt to re-record their video-auditions for the Final Round of judging. The Jensen is pleased to make these professional accompanists available to our Finalists, should they choose to re-record.
Jonathan Kelly is an assistant conductor at The Metropolitan Opera. He has worked in a similar capacity at the San Francisco Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Theater of Lucca, and the Chautauqua Institution. Frequently seen in concert, Mr. Kelly has appeared with many of today’s leading performers, including Elina Garanča, Susan Graham, Hei-Kyung Hong, Ana María Martínez, Anna Netrebko, Ramon Vargas, and Rolando Villazon. Formerly a lecturer at Yale University, he is now a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Kelly graduated summa cum laude from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music.
Dan Franklin Smith is a vocal coach and collaborative pianist based in New York City. He served for 10 years as Music Director and recital soloist with the international festival Elysium: Between-Two-Continents, performing in Europe and the United States. Mr. Smith graduated as a piano major from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. To learn more, visit his website.
Meet the Finals Judges for the 2021 Jensen Competition
The 2021 Competition Final Round are judged by this slate of internationally recognized opera professionals. These Finals Judges have graciously agreed to offer feedback to all 2021 finalists. We are grateful to Maestro Buchalter, Ms. Harmer, and Ms. Garrett for their willingness to support the Jensen Foundation and our singers.
Gregory Buchalter is the Artistic Director and conductor of Opera Fairbanks and Opera Camerata of Washington. In Fairbanks he has conducted L’Italiana in Algeri, Carmen, La Boheme, L’elisir d’amore, Don Giovanni, Tosca, and La Cenerentola. Maestro Buchalter currently serves on the music staff at the Metropolitan Opera and was Chorus Master for the telecasts of Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Don Giovanni and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. He has also prepared several world premieres at the Met: John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, Philip Glass’ The Voyage, and John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby. Read more about Maestro Buchalter.
This season, soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer returns to the Utah Opera in her role debut as Elle in an English-language version of La Voix Humaine and to the Metropolitan Opera in Frau ohne Schatten. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Ms. Harmer has appeared in their productions of Le nozze di Figaro, War and Peace, Khovanshchina, Parsifal, Die Agyptische Helena, Jenufa, and the complete Ring Cycle. She also appeared in the Met’s HD broadcasts of the Ring Cycle and The Magic Flute, which have subsequently been released on DVD (Deutsche Gramophone). Other recent opera engagements have included the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos and Adalgisa in Norma at the Palm Beach Opera, Senta in Die fliegende Holländer and multiple roles in the Ring Cycle at the Seattle Opera, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus at the Houston Grand Opera, Die Walküre at the San Francisco Opera, and Glauce in Medea at the Glimmerglas Festival. Ms. Harmer graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from The Boston Conservatory and attended the Music of Academy of the West. In addition to being a Jensen Competition winner, she also won the Richard Tucker Grant, the Teatro alla Scala Award, the Palm Beach Opera Competition, and the George London/Leonie Rysanek Award. Ms. Harmer is an Opus3 Artist.
Margo Garrett is an internationally acclaimed collaborative pianist, having performed on the stage and in the recording studio with such artists as Kathleen Battle, Barbara Bonney, Elizabeth Futral, the late Judith Raskin, Lucy Shelton, and Dawn Upshaw. A devoted teacher, Ms. Garrett co-directed the Collaborative Piano Department at New England Conservatory and headed the Collaborative Piano department at The Juilliard School. Ms. Garrett directed the Tanglewood Music Center vocal fellowship program and the TMC Vocal Program. In addition, she has served as Faculty Chair of The Steans Institute for Young Artists vocal programs at Chicago Symphony’s Ravinia Festival and held residencies at the Hochschule für Musik, Germany; Vancouver International Song Institute; Taiwan Normal Teacher’s University; Soochou University, China; Music Academy of the West; and Internationale Meistersinger Akademie, Germany. The American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) awarded Ms. Garrett its Most Creative Programming Award for her curation of programs for the Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival.
More information about our 2021 Vocal Competition:
Meet the Preliminary-Round Judges for the 2021 Competition
UPDATED May 3, 2021 — These are the opera professionals who served as Preliminary-Round Judges for the 2021 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. They watched a LOT of video-auditions this year, and we are so grateful for their expertise and stamina!
Carleen Graham is Director of HGOco, Houston Grand Opera’s community and learning initiative, and she recently announced she will join the Manhattan School of Music on July 1 2021 as its inaugural Associate Dean and Director of Vocal Arts. Dr. Graham is a State University of New York Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita and was Director of the award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble at SUNY Potsdam for 24 years. She was the co-founding Executive Director of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, Vice President of Conventions of the National Opera Association, and is a member of OPERA America’s Women’s Opera Network. Dr. Graham holds degrees from Columbia University; New England Conservatory of Music, and Ohio University, and is an active stage director, masterclass teacher, competition adjudicator, and conference presenter. Dr. Graham is a trustee of the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation.
R. Benjamin Leaptrott, Jr. is assistant professor of music with a specialty in collaborative arts at Brenau University and also an Artist in Residence at Brenau with The Leaptrott Trio. He is an active recitalist, vocal coach, and accompanist, and he also served as a past accompanist for the district and regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from East Carolina University, a Masters of Music Degree from Eastman School of Music, as well as Solo and Chamber Music Diplomas from Sweelinck Academy at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Mr. Leaptrott is Vice President of the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation.
Oliver Worthington, baritone, is Coordinator of the Voice Area at Butler University and is the producing director of Butler Opera Theater. He performs extensively as an opera singer, oratorio soloist, and recitalist, appearing regionally with San Antonio Opera, San Antonio Symphony, Austin Opera, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, among others. Dr. Worthington maintains a full schedule as an educator and performer and serves as the President of The Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation.
Read more of the details about the 2021 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition.