The Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice
International Voice Competition in Ithaca
Sunday, March 1, 2020 1pm-5pm
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Community School of Music & Arts
Hamblin Hall, 3rd Floor
330 East State Street, Ithaca
Opera Ithaca announces the third annual Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice to recognize outstanding emerging singers in the operatic field as well as pay homage to the lifetime achievement of the late Maestro Edward M. Murray who served twenty-five years as the director of the Cornell Symphony Orchestra and over twenty years as the music director of the former Ithaca Opera Association. Finals will be held in Ithaca on Sunday, March 1st, 2020. Fifteen finalists will be invited to Ithaca to compete before an audience and a distinguished panel of judges from the operatic field.
Prizes
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Prizes will include contracts with Opera Ithaca in the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 Seasons.
Eligibility
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Open to Singers of all ages and nationalities, pending ability to get a work visa in the USA. Singers who have sung roles with Opera Ithaca previously or who have obtained contracts for future work with Opera Ithaca are still welcome to apply.
Application Instructions
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Applications for the 2020 Award M. Murray International Competition of Voice will be available in late Fall 2019.
Travel to Ithaca for Finals March 1st
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Driving from NYC takes approximately four hours. There are several bus lines that service Ithaca including Coach USA, Greyhound, Red Bullet and Cornell University's private bus service. Ithaca Airport is the closest airport followed by Elmira Corning Airport, Syracuse Airport and Rochester Airport.
Lodging in Ithaca for Finals, March 1st
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There are some great lodging finds in the area whether you are looking for a bed and breakfast, AirBnB or a hotel. We suggest searching VisitIthaca.com, AirBnB.com or VRBO.com in addition to larger search engines like Kayak.com and Priceline.com to find something exactly right for you.
Repertoire Requirements for Finals
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A minimum of four arias and a maximum of eight
2017 Competition
Judges for Finals March 18th, 2017
Susan Ashbaker - Tri Cities Opera
Susan Delly Cotroneo - Rochester Lyric Opera
Jennifer Williams - D.C. Public Opera
Lynn Craver - Opera Ithaca
2017 Finalists
Derrell Acon BASS
SeungHyeon Baek BARITONE
Nayoung Ban SOPRANO
James Chamberlain TENOR
Kara Cornell MEZZO
Juliana Curcio MEZZO
Leah de Gruyl MEZZO
Julia Ebner SOPRANO
Courtney Elvira MEZZO
Virginia Hesse SOPRANO
Mark Hosseini BARITONE
Ann-Marie Iacoviello SOPRANO
Christine Lyons SOPRANO
Héctor Manuel Mir TENOR
Albert Niedel BARITONE
Jordan Schreiner TENOR
Jake Stamatis BARITONE
Cherisse Williams SOPRANO
Amanda Zory SOPRANO
Winners of the 2017 Edward M. Murray
International Competition of Voice
1st Place
Jordan Schreiner TENOR
Owego, New York
Tied for 2nd Place
Leah de Gruyl MEZZO SOPRANO
Sutton, West Virginia
Jake Stamatis BARITONE
Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania
Honorable Mention
Courtney Elvira MEZZO SOPRANO
St. Petersburg, Florida
Derrell Acon BASS BARITONE
St. Louis, Missouri
Virginia Hesse SOPRANO
Houston, Texas
In addition to the winners noted above, contracts for roles in future productions with Opera Ithaca were offered to finalists Kara Cornell, SeungHyeon Baek, Nayoung Ban, Christine Lyons and James Chamberlain.
2018 Competition
Judges for Finals March 18th, 2018
Luca Fleury-Carter - Berger Artist Management
Valerian Ruminsky - Nickel City Opera
Lynn Craver - Opera Ithaca
The 2nd Annual Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice
underwritten by Jim and Dianne Orcutt
Housing for Opera Ithaca's 2018 Judges generously provided by Inn on Columbia
2018 Finalists
Elizabeth Baldwin
Soprano
Toledo, OH
Hyunho Cho
Tenor
New York, NY
Donata Cucinotta
Soprano
Indianapolis, IN
Juliana Curcio
Mezzo Soprano
Buffalo, NY
Peter Drackley
Tenor
Philadelphia, PA
Anna Dugan
Soprano
New York, NY
Holly Flack
Soprano
Portland, OR
Stacey Geyer
Soprano
Halifax, PA
Alexander Hahn
Bass
Bayside, NY
GeeSeop Kim
Bass Baritone
Jersey City, NJ
Marjorie Maltais
Mezzo Soprano
Toronto, ON - Canada
Rachel Mikol
Soprano
Richmond, VA
Andrew Pardini
Baritone
New York, NY
Geoffrey Peterson
Baritone
Houston, TX
Natalie Polito
Soprano
New York, NY
Scott Purcell
Baritone
Binghamton, NY
Gyu Yeon Shim
Soprano
South Korea
ALTERNATES
Lauren Cook
Soprano
Philadelphia, PA
Keely Futterer
Soprano
Rochester, NY
Gillian Hollis
Soprano
Cleveland, OH
Nicholas Huff
Tenor
Rochester, NY
Boris Van Druff
Tenor
Angelica, NY
Winners of the 2018 Edward M. Murray
International Competition of Voice
1st Place
Scott Purcell
Baritone
Binghamton, NY
2nd Place
Elizabeth Baldwin
Soprano
Toledo, OH
3rd Place
Stacey Geyer
Soprano
Halifax, PA
Boris Van Druff
Tenor
Angelica, NY
Honorable Mention
Alexander Hahn
Bass
Bayside, NY
Rachel Mikol
Soprano
Richmond, VA