Rochester International Vocal Competition 2020 and 2021 Winners Announced
The Rochester Oratorio Society announced today that winners have been selected for the Rochester International Vocal Competition for both 2020 and 2021:
2020 Winners
1st Prize: Kara Dugan, Mezzo-Soprano
2nd Prize: Mary Beth Nelson, Mezzo-Soprano
3rd Prize: Kyle Sanchez Tingzon, Countertenor
2021 Winners
1st Prize: Allison Gish, Mezzo-Soprano
2nd Prize: Keymon Murrah, Countertenor
3rd Prize: David Walton, Tenor
See and hear all six winners on May 1, 2021 at 7:00 PM ET during the RIVC Showcase, where they will perform thrilling renditions of the most moving classics of opera, art song, and oratorio. Participate in this one-of-a-kind evening of music by voting for your favorite performance and watch live as the Audience Favorite winner is announced.
The RIVC Showcase is free and open to the public, and all donations received between May 1 and May 15, 2021 will be matched dollar-for-dollar (up to $1,000) to help sustain the Rochester Oratorio Society and support vocal talent, youth education, commissioning of new music and more. (Performances will be pre-recorded, Audience Favorite voting will open starting at 7:00 PM and the winner will be announced live at 8:00 PM. A Facebook account is not required to view the show or to vote for Audience Favorite.)
2020 Winners
1st Prize
Kara Dugan, Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” Recent highlights include her Los Angeles Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall debuts with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting his new work, Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind with poetry by Carl Sandburg. Ms. Dugan’s work with living composers also includes performances in the roles of Amadora and Stelladora in John Musto’s opera Bastianello for Festival Napa Valley, and a final workshop performance as Mrs. Van Buren in Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera Intimate Apparel, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater. Additional orchestral work includes three international tours with Juilliard415 and conductors Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, and Nicholas McGegan, culminating in a performance as the Soprano II soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor. Ms. Dugan also enjoys recital work with her husband, pianist Peter Dugan. The husband and wife duo perform together at festivals throughout the United States. Their recent recital appearances include the Joye in Aiken Festival, Charles Ives Concert Series, Moab Music Festival, and Portland Chamber Music Festival. In her 2020-2021 season she will make her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. Ms. Dugan has sung with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Boston Early Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Alice Tully Hall, and Aspen Music Festival. Ms. Dugan earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School.
2nd Prize
Mary Beth Nelson, Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-Soprano Mary Beth Nelson is a 2019 Career Bridges winner in New York City. She has been praised for singing with “virtuosic abandon… joyous flair and assured beauty of tone” (Opera Today) at The Glimmerglass Festival, where she sang the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Derrick Wang’s comedic opera Scalia/Ginsburg. Following her success as the operatic Supreme Court Justice, she was invited to Washington D.C. to perform in the winter Judicial Congressional Dialogue, as well as the Bipartisan Chiefs of Staff Initiative, where she sang for members of the Senate, House Legislation and their staff, and both the Supreme Court and Federal Court judiciary.
3rd Prize
Kyle Sanchez Tingzon, Countertenor
Kyle was a member of the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club (ACGC) from 2011 to 2015; the group that represented the Philippines in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Maribor, Slovenia in 2012.
Kyle’s curiosity towards countertenor singing started in 2012 when he joined Aleron, a Philippine male choral ensemble that has garnered numerous successes in choral competitions in Asia and Europe. He was featured as a soloist in the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd International Bamboo Organ Festival, conducted by Prof. Eudenice Palaruan and Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng. He was also featured as a soloist at the 25th Sweden Boys Choir Festival, conducted by Mr. Christopher Arceo, in Rättvik, Sweden.
Kyle is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, minor in Economics. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying under César Ulloa.
2021 Winners
1st Prize
Allison Gish, Mezzo-Soprano
Praised for her “full-flavored mezzo,” (Parterre Box), “substantial instrument and stage presence” (Voce di Meche) and “plushy instrument of vast range” (Oberon’s Grove), Allison Gish is a mezzo-soprano based in NYC. Recent roles include Apollo in Handel’s Terpiscore (American Bach Soloists Academy), Lucia in La gazza ladra (Teatro Nuovo), The Mother in The Consul (Bronx Opera), Lisotta in Salieri’s La cifra (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble), Giunone in Cavalli’s La Calisto (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble) and Lucretia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (New Camerata Opera), a performance deemed a “knockout” (Reaction, Operawire). On the concert stage, Allison has been alto soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor (American Bach Soloists Academy, Ars Musica), Mozart’s Requiem (Ars Musica), Handel’s Messiah (Bourbon Baroque), as well as numerous solo cantatas. Last season, prior to COVID-19, she created the roles of Leonora Goosling in Felix Jarrar’s Mother Goose, Athena in Kaley Lane Eaton’s Psychographics, and was in final rehearsals for Only Remains Remain, an experimental piece by Freya Powell set to premiere at MoMAPs1 and The Green-Wood Cemetery. After the pandemic put a stop to staged performances, Allison sang in the inaugural season of Social Distance Opera (an initiative of BARN Opera) as La Frugola in Puccini’s Il tabarro. She joined the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association this summer for her first season as mezzo-soprano soloist and alto section leader. During the pandemic, Allison has kept busy by performing in virtual song salons, recreating famous paintings on Instagram, and subtitling full-length operas for this season of virtual watch parties. Allison resides in New York’s Upper West Side with her husband and two perfect orange cats.
2nd Prize
Keymon Murrah, Countertenor
Keymon W. Murrah, a countertenor, native to Louisville, Kentucky, received a degree in Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky with a minor in Music Performance.
Mr. Murrah has performed with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and the Bluegrass Opera. He has performed in Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflote, Tales of Hoffman, and La Boheme. His most notable roles are Mingo in Porgy and Bess and creating the role of the Spiritual Man in Ernst Bacon’s A Tree on the Plains and recently sung the role of Tolomeo from Handel’s “Giulio Cesare with the Red River Lyric Opera. He will be performing Asprano in Vivaldi’s Motezuma with the America Baroque Opera Co. in 2019.
In 2009 Mr. Murrah received the Second Place Undergraduate Award at The Alltech Vocal Competition. In 2010 he won the second place award at the National Association of Negro Musicians and Bellarmine’s University’s “Traditional Negro Spiritual” Voice Competition. In 2014, Mr. Murrah was a finalist in the Juanita Peterson Vocal Competition. In 2018, he won the Encouragement Award for the Metropolitan Opera Council Central District Auditions.
3rd Prize
David Walton, Tenor
David Walton has made numerous appearances across the country as an up-and-coming lyric tenor. Recent roles include Count Almaviva with “requisite Rossini high notes” (The Wall Street Journal) in Francesca Zambello’s new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at The Glimmerglass Festival and Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Minnesota Opera, where David was hailed as “a true lyric tenor with strong Italianate stylings” and credited with “the sweetest singing of the evening” (Star Tribune). As the title role in Albert Herring with Union Avenue Opera, Broadway World called David “the perfect voice for this role.” He sang Belmonte with “appealing warmth and richness” (Capital Times) in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Madison Opera.
Upcoming roles include Belmonte with Livermore Valley Opera, Tonio in La fille du régiment at Opera Carolina, Jaquino in Fidelio with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Tom in the world premiere of Rachel Peter’s Companionship at Fort Worth Opera and a return to Minnesota Opera as Happy Felsch in the world premiere of composer Joel Puckett and librettist Eric Simonson’s The Fix.
ABOUT THE ROCHESTER ORATORIO SOCIETY:
Founded in 1945, the Rochester Oratorio Society is the region’s leading choral ensemble. The Oratorio Society has toured the world, commissioned and premiered major works and collaborated with the region’s finest vocalists, instrumentalists and ensembles. The organization produces four to six performances annually as well as the Rochester International Vocal Competition each spring. Information on the Oratorio Society and its productions may be found at www.ROSsings.org or at (585) 473-2234.
ABOUT ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL VOCAL COMPETITION
The Rochester International Vocal Competition is widely regarded as an essential step to advanced careers in professional vocal performance. Proceeds from the annual gala event support the artistic and educational agenda of the Rochester Oratorio Society, which is producing the competition for the 14th year. For more information on the Rochester International Vocal Competition, visit www.ROSsings.org.
