The American Prize is honored to announce the winners
and runners-up of
The American Prize in Vocal Performance (men in art song and oratorio), 2016—The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award, in
professional, college/university and high school divisions. Congratulations!
Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog
. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.
Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com
The American Prize in Vocal Performance—Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award
honors the memory of the greatest Wagnerian baritone of his age,
Friedrich Schorr, who commanded the operatic stage between the world
wars, and his wife, Virginia Schorr, who taught studio voice at the
Manhattan School of Music and the Hartt School of Music for nearly fifty
years. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best performances by
classically trained vocalists in America in 2016, based on submitted
recordings.
The American Prize in Vocal Performance (men in art song and oratorio), 2016
The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award
(professional division)
The American Prize winner:
STEPHEN LANCASTER
South Bend IN
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| STEPHEN LANCASTER |
Described as “a fine storyteller” (American Record
Guide), baritone Stephen Lancaster engages audiences through diverse
repertoire in concert, recital, and opera. Winner and Audience Favorite
in the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition, he has been
featured in venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the
Kennedy Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial Hall,
Centro Cultural de Belém, Petit Palau de la Música Catalana, and
Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. Recent concert and operatic appearances
include the South Bend Symphony, University Musical Society Choral
Union, Atlantic Music Festival, and Eugene Opera. A passionate
recitalist, he has performed programs in Paris, Frankfurt, and Gstaad;
at the Eure-et-Loire Festival; and for the Brooklyn Art Song Society in
New York. He has recorded an album of French art songs with Martin Katz
(Centaur Records) and currently serves as Associate Professor of the
Practice in voice at the University of Notre Dame.
2nd PLACE:
CARL DUPONT
Charlotte NC
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| CARL DUPONT |
Bass-Baritone Carl DuPont is a vocalist equally
engaged in performing, teaching, and research. A native of Daytona
Beach, Florida, he sang in the Stetson’s Children’s Choir and made his
debut in the title character in Amahl and the Night Visitors with the
Seaside Music Theater. Lately, he has been celebrated for his “dramatic,
dark tones” (South Florida Classical Review) as Leporello in Don
Giovanni, the title character in Dennis Rodman in North Korea, and Jim
in Porgy and Bess at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. He is a
graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, and the
University of Miami, and currently serves as assistant professor at the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte of applied voice and lyric
diction. His scholarly interest focuses on equity and inclusion in
higher music education, specifically the contributions of black
musicians, composers, and educators to the discipline.
3rd PLACE:
NICHOLAS PROVENZALE
Mattoon IL
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| NICHOLAS PROVENZALE |
Nicholas Provenzale’s international appearances have
delighted audiences and critics alike. This year he was a featured
soloist with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2013, Nicholas
made his Hong Kong City Hall debut as Silvio in Pagliacci with Musica
Viva Hong Kong. Also in 2013, Nicholas won the Hawaii Public Radio Art
Song Competition, and was the baritone soloist in The Messiah with the
Bangkok Combined Choir and Orchestra.
Nicholas’s
operatic engagements include performances with Indianapolis Opera,
Kentucky Opera, San Diego Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, and Bronx Opera.
As a soloist, he has appeared with the China National Symphony
Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
Nicholas’
recordings include the roles of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and Beau
Braxton in the world premiere of Pasatieri’s God Bless Us, Every One,
both released by Albany Records.
An enthusiastic
educator, Nicholas is currently on the faculty of Eastern Illinois
University. He previously served as Chair of the Classical Voice
Department at Mahidol University in Thailand. He has been a guest
teacher and performer at Burapha University in Thailand, the Myanmar
Institute of Theology, and Idyllwild Arts Academy in California.
www.nicholasprovenzale.com
The American Prize in Vocal Performance (men in art song and oratorio), 2016
The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award
(college/university division)
The American Prize winner:
QUINN BERNEGGER
Essex Junction VT
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| QUINN BERNEGGER |
Quinn Bernegger will be appearing this season as
Oronte in Handel’s Alcina at The Boston Conservatory, where he is
pursuing a graduate diploma in opera performance. He was seen most
recently as Nanki-Poo in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado this
summer at Chautauqua Opera, where he was also featured as an Apprentice
Artist in concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Last year he
made his professional debut as a Resident Artist with Tri-Cities Opera,
singing roles in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Beadle Bamford), Bernstein’s
Trouble in Tahiti (the Jazz Trio), and Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta (Alméric).
Equally at home in musical theater repertoire, Mr. Bernegger has also
performed the roles of Jack and Cinderella's Prince in Sondheim's Into
the Woods and Jean Valjean in Schönberg's Les Misèrables. He has been a
Young Artist at both the Opera Company of Middlebury and the Seagle
Music Colony, where he made his operatic debut as Fenton in Verdi's
Falstaff. Mr. Bernegger has also enjoyed performing oratorio and concert
work with the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival and the Voices of
Cooperstown. He is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont and has
received numerous honors, including selection as a finalist for the FAVA
Grand Concours competition.
2nd PLACE:
ALEXANDER YORK
Evanston IL
 |
| ALEXANDER YORK |
Baritone Alexander York, from Muskego, Wisconsin,
recently made his professional debut, going on in a last-minute cover
situation, as Don Quixote/Cervantes in Man of La Mancha with Central
City Opera in Colorado, where he appeared as a Bonfils-Stanton
Foundation Apprentice Artist. Last winter, York made the Chicago-area
fully-staged premiere of Joseph DeRocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man
Walking at Northwestern University. A 2014 graduate of Lawrence
University and the studio of Steven Paul Spears, York was featured there
as Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring, Harry Easter in Weill’s Street
Scene, and Cinderella’s Prince in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, among other
things. Last year, York was the recipient of the second-place Josephina
L. LiPuma Scholarship, an Encouragement Award from the Wisconsin Met
Council auditions, and the Evanston Music Club Scholarship. He currently
studies with W. Stephen Smith in the master’s program at Northwestern,
where he recently played the Count in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.
3rd PLACE:
BRAYTON ARVIN
Bloomington IN
 |
| BRAYTON ARVIN |
Baritone Brayton Arvin is in his post-graduate
studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he
earned his Master of Music. Operatic roles have included Guglielmo in
Cosi fan tutte, David in L’amico Fritz, Le Balli in Werther, Baron Zeta
in The Merry Widow, Maximilian in Candide, Notary/Spinelloccio in Gianni
Schicchi, Le Dancaïre in Carmen, and Jack Scott in the premiere of The
King in Yellow. He has been a young artist with Cedar Rapids Opera, Utah
Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, and Ash Lawn Opera. As a concert
artist, Arvin has been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mahler’s Lieder
eines fahrenden Gesellen, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Duruflé’s Messe
cum Jubilo, and dozens of premieres of vocal-orchestral and chamber
music. Later this year, he will be a soloist in John Stainer’s The
Crucifixion and perform the role of Andrew Carnes in IU Opera’s
production of Oklahoma! Arvin is a student of Heidi Grant Murphy.
wix.com/braytonarvin
The American Prize in Vocal Performance (men in art song and oratorio), 2016
The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award
(high school division)
The American Prize winner:
RUOBING ZHANG
Voorhees NJ
 |
| RUOBING ZHANG |
Ruobing Zhang, age 18, has made a name for himself
both as a pianist, singer, and martial arts specialist, winning serious
prizes in all areas. He continues to study voice in New York with
Juilliard graduate and professor Badiene Magaziner. At the tender age of
11, Ruobing received rave reviews as the boy soprano
soloist Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert titled “Jurowski Conducts
Mahler” in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. The Philadelphia Inquirer
review of the concert led off with a description of Ruobing’s
performance: “The most powerful solo vocal passages fall to the amazing
boy soprano, Ruobing Zhang." Brought to our attention by his performance
of the lead role in Amahl and the Night Visitors, his powerful voice is
unexpected and unique. He has a charismatic aura about him and sings
with deep soulfulness." In 2014, Ruobing was awarded Platinum for voice
and 1st place for Piano at ICEPN TV’s “My Great Stage” Talent Show
broadcasted on Times Warner Cable in NJ and NY. Recently, Ruobing
advanced to the second round of the Classical Singer Competition, to be
held in May 2016 in Boston, MA.
2nd PLACE:
ETHAN YAN
Mountain View CA
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| ETHAN YAN |
Ethan is a 9th grader at Menlo School, California. He
has received awards from American Protégé International Competitions,
New York Lyric Opera Theatre National Vocal Competition, Junior Bach
Festival, and the Bay Area NATS Singing Festival. He has performed at
the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and at the Bruno Walter
Auditorium at Lincoln Center—on the violin, singing, and singing while
self-accompanying on the piano. As a boy soprano soloist, he has
performed with Monterey Symphony, Marin Symphony, Santa Cruz County
Symphony, and Los Angeles Opera; and as a chorister, with San Francisco
Opera and San Francisco Symphony. He is a 2015 Caroline Bradley Scholar,
state-level math competitor, member of the Junior Mensa Honor Society,
and award winner in national essay competitions. In the 2016
International History Olympiad, he was awarded five medals. Ethan also
serves in a church music ministry. His wonderful voice teacher is Ms.
Angelique Zuluaga.
3rd PLACE:
THOMAS LITCHEV
Dillon CO
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| THOMAS LITCHEV |
Thomas Litchev (bass-baritone), 17, was born in
Chicago, Illinois to Bulgarian parents and is currently studying Voice
in his third year at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen,
Michigan. At the Academy, he studies with John Bragle. He frequently
recieves vocal coachings from Susan Snyder and Donna Brunsma, who also
serves as the Italian diction teacher. In 2014 he received the Merit
Scholarship Award from the YoungArts Foundation. In the summer of 2015
he attended the Bel Canto Institute in Florence, Italy; here he took
lessons with Stephen West and received vocal coaching from Jane
Klaviter, Joana Pons, and Robert Morrison. He has given recitals at
Interlochen and has been part of a recital given in Florence. This
coming summer, in July of 2016, Mr. Litchev will be performing in
"L'incoronazione di Poppea", one of the main-stage productions with the
Oberlin in Italy Program in Arezzo, Italy.
***
Congratulations!
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