Panelists

These were our panelists for 2012.

Kate Tamarkin

Music Director, Charlottesville and University Symphony
Music Director, Chamber Orchestra of Charlottesville
Professor, University of Virginia

Described by Leonard Bernstein as "extremely musical, a vivid personality, and a strong performer", Kate Tamarkin has a distinguished national and international reputation as a conductor of orchestras at many levels.  Formerly Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony under the late Eduardo Mata, she has held music directorships with the Monterey Symphony, the East Texas Symphony, the Vermont Symphony and the Fox Valley Symphony (Wisconsin).

Ms. Tamarkin has guest conducted some of the world's leading orchestras and has been profiled on CNN and NBC's Today Show.  Bridging both the professional and academic worlds, Ms. Tamarkin is currently a professor at the University of Virginia, where she conducts the Charlottesville and University Symphony. She is also the music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Charlottesville.

Douglas Kinney Frost

Director of Music, Syracuse Opera

Director of Music at Syracuse Opera, Douglas Kinney Frost has conducted orchestras and opera productions throughout the world. Highlights include performances with Teatro Colon, Russian Federal Orchestra in Moscow, National Orchestra of Korea, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Utah Symphony and Opera, Bellas Artes, Grand Teton Music Festival, Kharkov Philharmonic, Florida Grand Opera, and Virginia Symphony. A leader in the training of young opera singers and conductors, he has guest conducted and taught at many universities and conservatories, including the Boston premiere of Little Women at New England Conservatory, and he was the first guest conductor of opera in the history of the University of Michigan.

Frost has held an eight-year affiliation with the Conductors Retreat at Medomak; and in addition to creating a resident artists program for Syracuse Opera, he has been a key participant in shaping opera young artist programs at Florida Grand Opera, Utah Opera, and Virginia Opera. His education shows are performed across the country, and have been seen for years on PBS. He has a reputation for creative audience development initiatives, and has served on national panels for Opera America, League of American Orchestras, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as state and local arts councils.

Constance Fee

Artist-in-Residence
Associate Professor of Voice
Roberts Wesleyan College

Constance Fee is the Vocal Program Director, Artist-in-Residence, and Associate Professor of Vocal Performance at Roberts Wesleyan College. Ms. Fee received the Performer's Certificate in Opera Performance (Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia).

Having completed graduate degrees in vocal performance and music education at Indiana University and Westminster Choir College, Ms. Fee maintained an active operatic career, performing leading roles in virtually every major European capital and in Israel, including title roles in Tosca, Carmen, La Cenerentola, Tristan und Isolde, Boris Godunov and Il barbiere di Siviglia. A renowned orchestral soloist, Ms. Fee has appeared frequently with major orchestras, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Her festival appearances include the Internationale Musikfestwochen in Lucerne and the Marlboro Music Festival in concert with pianist Rudolf Serkin. She was the soloist in Chausson's Poème de l'amour et de la mer and the Poulenc Stabat mater at the Rudolfinum in Prague, in televised concerts honoring the orchestra's 100th Anniversary.

Panelists for the Semi-Final Round

Chief Judge:
Eric Townell
Artistic Director of the ROS

Richard Decker
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
VP of Artistic Administration

Raffaele Ponti
Music Director
Empire State Lyric Theatre

Constance Fee
Artist-in-Residence
Associate Professor of Voice
Roberts Wesleyan College

Accompanist

Jamie Johns
Pianist/conductor Jamie Johns has been the Director of Opera and Musical Theatre at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, the Resident Music Director at the Skylight Opera Theatre and the Education Director at Orlando Opera.