Six young singers have been chosen to participate in the final round of the Young Artist Competition for Performance of Art Song. Finalists include Songfest alumnae soprano Kristina Bachrach, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, and mezzo-soprano Quinn Middleman, along with bass-baritone Calvin Griffin, soprano Julia Metzler, and bass-baritone Matthew Scollin. Judges will include author and critic Matthew Gurewitsch, author and producer Michael Haas, artist manager Caroline Woodfield, and soprano Angela Blasi. Each finalist will develop and perform a short program of art songs drawn from the works of select composers suppressed during the years of the Nazi regime, including Hanns Eisler, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ernst Krenek, Kurt Weill, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and Eric Zeisl.
Cash prizes totaling $12,000 ($5,000 First Prize) will be awarded to all finalists. Plus, a fully underwritten residency at SongFest 2016 will be offered to the winner, courtesy of SongFest.
The Ziering-Conlon Initiative at the Colburn School, James Conlon, Artistic Advisor, will host a national Art Song competition for US and Canadian artists under the age of 31. This Colburn Conservatory initiative is inspired by James Conlon's "Recovered Voices" project at the LA Opera. The objective of the competition is to introduce the music of composers suppressed during the Nazi regime to young singers and collaborative pianists and to reward excellence in its performance. Live finals, with audience, to be held in Zipper Hall of the Colburn School on December 6, 2015.