News
Mezzo Sadie Cheslak Wins 2025 Jensen Competition
The Jensen Foundation has awarded mezzo-soprano Sadie Cheslak the First Place grant award in the 25th annual Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. Ms. Cheslak receives $15,000 as First-Place grant winner.
Sadie Cheslak, mezzo-soprano
Saturday, May 17, 2025 — NEW YORK, NY – Today, the Jensen Foundation has awarded mezzo-soprano Sadie Cheslak the First Place grant award in the 25th annual Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. For her arias, Ms. Cheslak performed “Weiche, Wotan! Weiche!” from Wagner’s Das Rheingold and “My husband was an ugly man” from The Listeners by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. Ms. Cheslak receives $15,000 as first-place grant winner.
Said Ms. Cheslak, “The Jensen Foundation’s commitment to supporting artists they believe in means everything to me. It’s a vote of confidence in who I am as an artist. It felt incredible to receive first prize, and I can’t begin to describe the ways this generous prize is going to open doors for me. I’m overwhelmingly grateful.”
Ms. Cheslak received her Master of Music Degree from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Concordia College. She has been chosen as a Young Artist for the 2025 Merola Opera Program in San Francisco this summer. To learn more, follow Ms. Cheslak on Instagram.
The Jensen Foundation extends its congratulations to its additional 2025 Jensen grant award winners: soprano Abigail Raiford (Second Place grant winner - $10,000); soprano Esther Tonea (Third Place grant winner - $7, 500); mezzo-soprano Winona Martin and soprano Virginia Mims (co-winners of the Munday Encouragement Grant - $3,000 each); and soprano Maggie Kinabrew, winner of the $10,000 Facing Foward grant for the best performance of a 21st-century aria.
These nine outstanding artists also advanced to the Finals Round of the 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. Each receives a $750 grant award:
Patrick Bessenbacher | Tenor
Brennan Blankenship | Soprano
Charles Eaton | Baritone
Cara Gabrielson | Soprano
Julia Laird | Soprano
Victoria McGrath | Soprano
Celeste Morales | Soprano
Joseph Park | Bass-Baritone
Zaikuan Song | Bass
Finalists in the 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition were accompanied by Dan Franklin Smith.
2025 Jensen Finalists and Judges (L to R) - Patrick Bessenbacher, Virginia McGrath, Cara Gabrielson, Cory Lippiello, Brennan Blankenship, Charles Eaton, Celeste Morales, Virginia Mims, Abigail Raiford, Sadie Cheslak, Michael Eberhard, Esther Tonea, Maggie Kinabrew, Priti Gandhi, Winona Martin, Joseph Park, Zaikuan Song.
Our 2025 Judges
The Jensen Foundation gratefully acknowledges the work of its panel of esteemed Finals Judges: Michael Eberhard, Director of Casting & Artistic Administration at Opera Philadelphia and Casting Advisor for the Spoleto Festival USA; Priti Gandhi, Associate Director of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition; and Cory Lippiello, Director of Artistic Programs at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Read more about our Finals Judges.
About the Fritz & Lavinia Jensen Foundation
The Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation, a Donor-Advised Fund of Foundation For The Carolinas, was established by Lavinia Jensen in honor of her late husband, Fritz. 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, 461 singers have received more than $985,000 in support.
And the 2025 Jensen Finalists are...
After four days of preliminary auditions , fifteen Finalists to the 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition have been announced. They compete on Saturday, May 17, for more than $50,000 in grant awards.
POSTED May 15, 2025 – NEW YORK, NY – After four days of preliminary auditions this week, Finalists for the 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition have been announced. They are:
Patrick Bessenbacher | Tenor
Brennan Blankenship | Soprano
Sadie Cheslak | Mezzo-Soprano
Charles Eaton | Baritone
Cara Gabrielson | Soprano
Maggie Kinabrew | Soprano
Julia Laird | Soprano
Winona Martin | Mezzo-Soprano
Victoria McGrath | Soprano
Virginia Mims | Soprano
Celeste Morales | Soprano
Joseph Park | Bass-Baritone
Abigail Raiford | Soprano
Zaikuan Song | Bass
Esther Tonea | Soprano
These fifteen singers compete for more than $50,000 in grant awards this Saturday, May 17, at noon at Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York City. The singers will be judged by a distinguished panel of opera professionals:
Michael Eberhard, Opera Philadelphia
Priti Gandhi, Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition
Cory Lippiello, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Read more about our 2025 Finals Judges.
The Jensen Foundation is grateful to have received applications from more than 245 talented singers interested in participating in the 2025 Vocal Competition. One hundred four were invited to be heard, and these fifteen finalists were selected. They compete for:
$15,000, First Place Grant Award
$10,000, Second Place Grant Award
$7,500, Third Place Grant Award
$3,000, Munday Encouragement Grant Award
$10,000, Facing Forward Grant Award for best performance of a 21st-century aria
Each non-award-winning Finalist receives a grant of $750.
The Jensen Foundation heartily thanks its judges for the preliminary rounds of the 2025 Competition: Ms. Kirsten Chambers, soprano; Mr. Ben Leaptrott of Brenau University; and Dr. Oliver Worthington of Butler University. We are also grateful to our accompanists, Dan Franklin Smith and Jonathan Kelly, who performed with our singers this week.
The Finals event of the 2025 Jensen Competition is free and open to the public. Join us on Saturday, May 17, at noon at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, New York City.
Meet our 2025 Finals Judges
The 2025 Jensen Competition Finals will be judged by some of our favorite opera professionals (and mentors!). Meet Michael Eberhard, Priti Gandhi, and Cory Lippiello.
The 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition Finals will be judged by this slate of opera professionals. Our Finals Judges have graciously agreed to offer feedback to all finalists who wish to stay after the competition on Saturday, May 17, 2025. We are grateful to Mr. Eberhard, Ms. Gandhi, and Ms. Lippiello for the expertise and encouragement they offer our 2025 finalists.
Michael Eberhard is the Director of Casting & Artistic Administration at Opera Philadelphia, a position he has held since 2009. He is also the Casting Advisor for the Spoleto Festival USA. Previously, he worked at the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A trained opera singer, Mr. Eberhard has performed with such companies as Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Utah Festival Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree from the Eastman School of Music and his Masters of Music degree from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Edward Zambara. Mr. Eberhard moved to Philadelphia to attend the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts studying with Joanna Levy. He has judged many competitions including the Marcello Giordani International Voice Competition, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Greenfield Competition, and Astral Artists Voice Competition. Learn more about Opera Philadelphia and the Spoleto Festival USA.
Priti Gandhi is a leader in opera administration, innovative casting, and a passionate artist advocate in the field. In 2023, she joined the artistic department of the Metropolitan Opera as Associate Director of the Laffont Competition. After a long international opera career that included performances with companies like Seattle Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, UNAM in Mexico City, the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, she transitioned into artistic administration with San Diego Opera, Minnesota Opera, and Portland Opera. She is a sought-after audition master class instructor and guest lecturer with schools like the New England Conservatory, The Julliard School, Mannes School of Music, and the University of California at San Diego. Learn more about the Laffont Competition.
Cory Lippiello, CSA is the Director of Artistic Programs at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she prepares principal artist casting for Lyric's mainstage operas, musicals, and outreach programming. In addition, she is the Emmy Award-winning producer of Lyric's filmed streaming projects and an integral member of the team developing new opera commissions and other special presentations. During a career that spans over thirty years as a producer and administrator, Ms. Lippiello has held significant positions with New York City Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, The Atlanta Opera, the New York Philharmonic, IMG Artists, OPERA America, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She is a sought-after speaker on the topics of artistic planning and casting, and she has been honored to serve multiple times as an adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and as a grant review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. A recipient of two Artios Awards for casting musical theater at Lyric, Ms. Lippiello is the first casting director from the opera world to become a member of the Casting Society of America. Learn more about Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Meet our 2025 Preliminary Judges
We are pleased to welcome these esteemed opera professionals as the Preliminary Judges for our 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition.
The 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition is pleased to welcome once again these esteemed music professionals as Preliminary Judges, hearing our auditioners May 12-15, 2025.
Kirsten Chambers, soprano, has sung the title role of Salome at the Metropolitan Opera, Opera Hong Kong, and Florida Grand Opera. Her Carnegie Hall debut was Maria in Richard Strauss’ Friedenstag with the American Symphony Orchestra. She first joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera as a cover of Isolde in Tristan und Isolde and rejoined the Metropolitan Opera roster in the 2016-17 season for Die Walküre and to cover Marie in Wozzeck in 2019-20. Abroad, she has sung Elsa in Lohengrin with the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Opéra de Rennes, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Favorite engagements include Erwartung with The Orchestra Now, Strauss’ Die Ägyptische Helena with Odyssey Opera, and as the Angel in Angels in America for New York City Opera. Ms. Chambers earned degrees from Illinois Wesleyan University and the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. Visit her website to learn more.
R. Benjamin “Ben” 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, serving as 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, and a Solo Diploma from Sweelinck Academy at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Mr. Leaptrott is Vice President of the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Fund, a component fund of Foundation For The Carolinas.
Dr. Oliver Worthington II, baritone, is acclaimed as an opera singer, oratorio soloist, and recitalist, having performed with such presenters as Indianapolis Opera, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, West Virginia Symphony, San Antonio Opera, San Antonio Symphony. A champion of living composers, he premieres and commissions new works to include diverse representation and visibility in the art song repertoire. Dr. Worthington is the Vocal Area Coordinator and the Producing Director of Butler Opera Theatre at Butler University. He maintains a full schedule as an educator and performer and serves as the President of The Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation, a component fund of Foundation For The Carolinas. Dr. Worthington received degrees from Converse College, The New England Conservatory of Music, and The University of Texas at Austin. He collaborated with his Butler colleague Dr. Dana Zenobi to create the award-winning recording Joys Abiding; Soprano and Baritone Duets by Historical Women Composers at Navona Records, a division of PARMA Recordings. They published an annotated anthology of the scores using the same title through Classical Vocal Reprints.
More About the 2025 Jensen Competition
Meet our 2025 Jensen Accompanists
The Jensen Competition is pleased to welcome back two of New York's finest collaborative pianists to accompany our 2025 auditioners.
When the Jensen Competition grants auditions, we offer singers the option to perform with professional accompanists we make available at no charge. Once again this year, we are privileged to welcome back two of New York’s finest collaborators!
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 Placido Domingo, Renée Fleming, 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. Jonathan will accompany singers scheduled to audition on Monday - Tuesday, May 12-13.
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. Dan will accompany singers scheduled to audition Wednesday-Thursday, May 14-15, and for the Finals Competition on Saturday, May 17.