2021-2022 Wirth Vocal Prize Finalists Announced
We are pleased to announce that the three finalists chosen to compete for the 2021-2022 Wirth Vocal Prize are soprano Alexis Reed, soprano Kelsey Ronn, and soprano Elisabeth Saint-Gelais. These singers were selected from the splendid semifinal round held on Thursday, March 10 at Pollack Hall.
The three finalists, Elisabeth Saint-Gelais, Kelsey Ronn, and Alexis Reed will each present a twenty-five-minute programme of music. As required by the competition, the pieces performed must be in a minimum of three languages and including at least one opera aria.
The Wirth Vocal Prize jury for the semifinal and final rounds includes both Schulich Voice Area members and colleagues from outside of McGill.
The 2021-2022 jury is comprised of Artistic Director of the Regina Symphony, conductor Gordon Gerrard; Chantal Lambert, Artistic Administrator of l’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal; Rosemarie Landry, Pedagogue and Voice Teacher at the Faculty of Music of l’Université de Montréal; and Schulich Voice Area professors Annamaria Popescu and Stefano Algieri.
The winner of this year’s Wirth Vocal Prize will receive a generous scholarship, valued at $25,000, as well as a smaller likeness of the Wirth Vocal Prize logo in the form of a 14-karat gold lapel pin. Runners-up in the final will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize.
The Wirth Vocal Prize in vocal performance was established in 2015 through the extraordinary generosity of Elizabeth Wirth to the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, along with new Student Excellence Awards, and an innovative Student Initiatives Fund. Awarded yearly since its inception, the Wirth Vocal Prize recognizes a voice student who demonstrates exceptional talent and significant promise for an international career.
Final Round: Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 7:00 pm (Webcast from Pollack Hall)
