Chelsea Rus wins the Wirth Vocal Prize

British Columbian soprano Chelsea Rus was named the winner of the 2016 Wirth Vocal Prize in the inaugural edition of the competition held Sunday, February 7 in Tanna Schulich Hall.  Ms. Rus performed a program that included works by Puccini, Massenet, and Strauss.  She is a master's student in the studio  of Joanne Kolomyjec.   The other three finalists were Nicholas Burns (countertenor), Bruno Roy (baritone) and Lauren Woods (soprano). 

"I'm shocked, thrilled and excited for what this means and honoured to have been chosen as the winner," said Rus to CBC's Robert Rowat, following Sunday's announcement. She said she views the $25,000 prize as a start-up fund for the company that is her young career. "This money will go toward future auditions, coachings, lessons and for the months when I don't have contracts."

The jury for the competition was made up of Stéphane Lemelin, Chair of Music Performance, Tracy Dahl, soprano; Patrick Hansen, Director of Opera Studies; and Roberto Mauro, Director of Music and Artistic Administration at the Canadian Opera Company.

In addition to the $25 000 cash award, the Wirth Vocal Prize includes a number of performance opportunities, notably a recital at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. The prize is named for Montreal philanthropist Elizabeth Wirth, who made a $7.5 million donation to the Schulich School of Music in March 2015.