2009 Vocal Competition Winners Announced
For Immediate Release July 28, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – Mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller, tenor Jeffrey Hill, and pianist Lio Kuokman have been named the winners of this year's Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition, which took place July 25 at the Music Academy of the West. The foundation will present the winners in separate recitals in New York City. Mr. Kuokman will be presented with one singer at Christ and St. Stephen's Church in New York on February 14, 2010. The other singer will be presented in recital next year. The singers' respective performance dates will be announced later.
Receiving Encouragement Awards at this year's competition were vocalists Zachary Altman (baritone), Jennifer Feinstein (mezzo-soprano), Kathryn Louise Lewek (soprano), José Rubio (baritone), Joshua Stewart (tenor), and Ashley Watkins (soprano). Biographies appear below.
In light of the consistent excellence on display throughout this year's competition, the judges elected to offer several other Music Academy Fellows the opportunity to participate in the Marilyn Horne Foundation's four-day "The Song Continues" festival of masterclasses and recitals at Carnegie Hall in January. Receiving this honor were: pianist Adam Bloniarz and vocalists Derrell Acon (bass-baritone), Julia Cramer (soprano), Julia Dawson (mezzo-soprano), Betsy Diaz (soprano), Rodney Westbrook (tenor), and Célia Zambon Wollenberg (soprano).
One of the most popular events of the summer season at the Music Academy, the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition is a showcase for Academy singers and vocal pianists. Foundation Awards, presented in honor of longtime Music Academy vocal accompaniment faculty member Gwendolyn Koldofsky, are given to the Academy singer and vocal pianist who demonstrate excellence in the performance of song repertoire as well as a unique gift for audience communication. It is unusual to have more than one singer named as a winner in a given year. The foundation presents the award winners in recital as part of its "On Wings of Song" series. Encouragement Awardees are also presented as deemed appropriate by the jury. Encouragement Award recipients receive $250 cash prizes.
Joining world-renowned concert and opera singer Marilyn Horne as jurors this year were Mary Lou Falcone (a faculty member at Juilliard); Barbara Hocher (executive director of the Marilyn Horne Foundation); Margo Garrett (a faculty member at Juilliard and the Music Academy of the West), and Peter Kazaras (artistic director of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program).
Previous winners of the competition have included soprano Simone Osborne, baritone Edward Parks, and pianist In-Sun Suh (2008); soprano Nadine Sierra and pianist Karen Kyung-Eun Na (2007); Santa Barbara's own Evan Hughes (2006); soprano Elaine Alvarez, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, and pianist Tamara Sanikidze (2005); mezzo-soprano Daniela Lehner and pianist Marie-Ève Scarfone (2004); mezzo-soprano Megan Latham and pianist Carol Wong (2003); mezzo-soprano Deborah Domanski and pianist Jerome Tan (2002); tenor Ramon Diggs and pianist Nina Sanikidze (2001); baritone Nicolai Janitzky, mezzo-soprano Liesel Fedkenheuer, and pianists Ji Young Lee and Spencer Meyer (2000).
The Marilyn Horne Foundation was founded in 1993 by Ms. Horne. Its mission is to support, encourage, and preserve the art of the vocal recital through the presentation of vocal recitals and related educational activities across the United States. It has become one of the most influential and esteemed national nonprofits devoted exclusively to song and to gifted young vocal recitalists. The foundation was officially launched on January 16, 1994, with a gala concert at Carnegie Hall celebrating Ms. Horne's 60th birthday.
Remaining highlights of the Music Academy of the West's 62nd Summer Festival include an ambitious production of Ambroise Thomas' charming French Romantic opera Mignon, as well as a Baroque Evening with Nicholas McGegan and a season-ending concert featuring conductor Leonard Slatkin and the Academy Festival Orchestra. The Academy is presenting more than 190 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which began June 22 and concludes on August 15. Upcoming events also will include a performance by Canadian Brass. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events are being presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
For information, call 969-8787. Information is also available online at www.musicacademy.org.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
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Biographies
Ronnita Nicole Miller, 30, born in St. Petersburg, Florida, is a member of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera. An alumna of the Juilliard Opera Center, Ms. Miller completed her master's degree at Manhattan School of Music and her bachelor's degree in vocal performance at the University of South Florida. With the Juilliard Opera Center, she has appeared as Háta in The Bartered Bride, Maman in L'enfant et les sortilèges, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and L'opinion publique in Orfée aux enfers. In 2005 she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Weill Music Institute and the Orchestra of St. Luke's in their performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. She has received Samuel Robinson, Manhattan School of Music, Anna Case McKay, and Juilliard Opera scholarships, as well as a Whitcomb Foundation Grant.
Jeffrey Hill, 24, born in Trail, British Columbia, recently graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with bachelor's and master's degrees in opera theater. His Oberlin Opera credits include Pandolfe in Cendrillon, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Count Robinson in The Secret Marriage, Belcore in l'Elisir D'Amore, and Herr Fluth in Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. His scene credits include the title characters in Rigoletto and Eugene Onegin, Damis in Tartuffe, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Giovanni and Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Mr. Hill performed the role of Tony in West Side Story for Lethbridge Musical Theatre in 2005. He has studied for the past four years with Kendra Colton.
Lio Kuokman, 28, born in Macau, is a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied orchestral conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and the harpsichord with Lionel Party. He previously received a master's degree in piano performance at Juilliard, where he studied with Robert McDonald. Mr. Lio has performed as a soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony, Salzburg Camerata, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. As a conductor, he has assisted in productions of Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen, Wozzeck, and Ainadamar. Mr. Lio has been the recipient of numerous awards, including first prize in the first Toyama Piano Competition in Hong Kong, second prize in the sixth Mauro Paolo Monopoli International Piano Competition in Italy, and the Theodore Presser Foundation Award for Young Conductors.
Zachary Altman, 24, born in Philadelphia, is pursuing a master's degree at Manhattan School of Music, where he studies with Marlena Malas and has performed the roles of Don Polidoro in L'italiana in Londra, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Fortitude the Lion in Griffelkin, and Joe Harland in Later the Same Evening. Mr. Altman has also studied at the Chautauqua Institution, where he played Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte and Arnalta in L'incoronazione di Poppea. He recently sang Nimming Ned in Britten's version of Gay's The Beggar's Opera, conducted by Lorin Maazel. Mr. Altman is a Marilyn Horne Foundation Encouragement Award recipient. He attended the Music Academy in 2008.
Jennifer Feinstein, 25, born in Providence, Rhode Island, is a professional studies diploma candidate at Mannes College, where she studies with Ruth Falcon. Her recently performed roles include Nettie Sloan/Aunt Bea in A Wedding, Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann, Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Mercedes in Carmen, Rosina in Barber of Seville, and the title role in La Cenerentola. A former finalist in the Bel Canto Foundation annual opera competition, Ms. Feinstein has received encouragement awards from Opera Index and the Metropolitan Opera National Council. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University at Bloomington and has completed young artist programs with Indianapolis Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She attended the Music Academy in 2008.
Kathryn Louise Lewek, 25, born in Joliet, Illinois, received her master's and bachelor's degrees in vocal performance and literature at Eastman School of Music, where she was also awarded a performance certificate in voice. Her performance credits with the Eastman Opera Theater include the title role in Cendrillon and Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Additional performance credits include Gretchen in Scenes from Goethe's Faust, Eva in an excerpt from Die Meistersinger, and soprano soloist turns in Mozart's C Minor Mass, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Handel's Messiah, and Bach's B Minor Mass. Ms. Lewek recently debuted with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and took top honors in last year's Orpheus Vocal Competition. In December Ms. Lewek's first solo album was released by Albany Records.
José Rubio, 25, born in Portland, Oregon, received his master's degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and his bachelor's degree from the University of Washington. He is currently a Portland Opera Studio Artist. Mr. Rubio spent three summers studying in Italy with CCM's Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca program. His leading credits include Dr. Rappaccini in La Hija de Rappaccini, Marcello in La Bohème, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Orgon in Tartuffe, Kruscina in The Bartered Bride, and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd. Mr. Rubio also has appeared as Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Mercury in La Calisto, and Marullo in Rigoletto for Portland Opera. This is his first summer at the Music Academy of the West.
Joshua Stewart, 22, born in New Orleans, is a member of the Curtis Opera Theatre, where he recently performed the roles of Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, and Ruiz Alonso in the Philadelphia premiere of Golijov's Ainadamar. Mr. Stewart is an undergraduate at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he holds the Joseph Cairns Jr. and Ernestine Bacon Memorial Fellowship. His other roles have included the Lyric Tenor in Postcard from Morocco, Prunier in La Rondine, Erice in L'Ormindo, the Mayor in Albert Herring, the First Sailor in Dido and Aeneas, the Tenor in Trouble in Tahiti, and Monostatos and First Armored Guard in Die Zauberflöte. He attended the Music Academy in 2007 and 2008.
Ashley Renée Watkins, 24, born in New Orleans, is pursuing a master's degree in voice performance at the University of Oklahoma, where she received her bachelor's degree. Her recent roles have included La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Foreign Princess in Rusalka, Nirena in Giulio Cesare, Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, Mimì in La Bohème, Liù in Turandot, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. A former University of Oklahoma Concerto Competition winner, Ms. Watkins was an encouragement award recipient at the Metropolitan Opera National Council/ New Orleans District Auditions. She attended the Music Academy in 2008.
Adam Bloniarz, 26, born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, recently completed a fellowship in collaborative piano at the Bard Conservatory of Music. He received his master's degree at Yale School of Music, where he studied with Boris Berman, and graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, where he studied mathematics. Mr. Bloniarz has performed throughout the United States and Europe as both a solo pianist and chamber musician, having made his concerto debut with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra at age 17. His playing also has been featured on Radio Suisse Romande. Mr. Bloniarz was a faculty member at the McAlester Summer Institute of Music the last two summers, and has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Bowdoin Music Festival. He attended the Music Academy as a solo pianist in 2005.
Derrell Acon, 21, born in St. Louis, attends Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he studies with soprano Patrice Michaels. He has performed there as Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor and as Betto in Gianni Schicchi. Mr. Acon is pursuing bachelor's degrees in vocal performance and government, with a minor in ethnic studies. His honors include first place in National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions in 2006 and 2008, a Bravo Award in Chicago's Bel Canto Foundation Opera Contest, and a Marielle Huber Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In 2006 Mr. Acon attended the Wesley Balk Opera/Music Theater Institute. The following year he performed the role of Elder Ott in Susannah at Chautauqua Music Festival.
Julia Cramer, 23, born in Houston, is pursuing a master's degree in opera at the University of Houston. She completed her bachelor's degree at the Eastman School of Music last year. Ms. Cramer's past roles have included Giunia in Lucio Silla, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Morgana in Alcina, Juno in Orpheus in the Underworld, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music, and Judy in Hoiby's This is the Rill Speaking. She attended Operafestival di Roma in 2007 and her honors include second place in the Friends of Eastman Opera Competition and an Ornest Award. This is her first summer at the Music Academy of the West.
Julia Dawson, 20, born in Toronto, is an undergraduate at Oberlin College Conservatory, where she studies with Kendra Colton. An avid recitalist, Ms. Dawson frequently performs with various artists in Toronto, Cobourg, Orillia, and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Most recently, she sang Jezebel in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra and Chorus. Ms. Dawson has been a frequent guest at the Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, where she sang Lucy in Mennoti's The Telephone. She has twice studied in Italy at the International Institute of Vocal Arts, performing Ninfa in L'Orfeo and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Betsy Diaz, 21, born in Miami, is a member of the Florida Grand Opera Chorus and currently studies voice with Manny Perez. She recently took part in masterclasses with Montserrat Caballé in Zaragoza, Spain. In April 2008, Ms. Diaz performed with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra after being named the youngest prizewinner in the Junior Division of the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition. Ms. Diaz was a Florida Grand Opera Scholar in 2006. She recently performed the role of Dorabella in the New World School of the Arts production of Cosi Fan Tutte.
Rodney Westbrook, 30, born in Fayette, Alabama, studies at the University of Oklahoma, where he recently performed the role of Gerald in Lakmè and in the fall will sing Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. His other roles have included Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Sesto in Julius Caesar, First Commissioner in Dialogue of the Carmelites, Fyedka in Fiddler on the Roof, Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte, and Orpheus in Orpheus in the Underworld. Mr. Westbrook's awards include a full scholarship from the University of Oklahoma, the Gerald Norman Scholarship, and OU's Opera Guild Scholarship. He has also performed professionally in Germany at the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg. This is his first summer at the Music Academy of the West.
Célia Zambon Wollenberg, 32, born in Nice, France, is a doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma, where she recently performed the role of Lakmé. Her other roles have included Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Despina in Così fan Tutte, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Lady Harriet in Martha, and First Wood-Sprite in Rusalka. Ms. Wollenberg is a Benton Schmidt Scholar and a Hoving Graduate Fellow. She was an apprentice for the Cimarron Circuit Opera Company and attended the Music Academy of the West in 2008.
