Eighteen singers were named winners at the CS Music Vocal Competition, sponsored by Classical Singer magazine, Virtually Vocal, and Franco-American Vocal Academy, May 25–28, at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. More than 1,830 singers competed in six different divisions in a series of rounds that began in January and concluded at the annual CS Music Convention.
The field was narrowed to ten singers in each division for the final round on Sunday, May 28. Then the top three singers from each division performed in the Grand Finale Concert & Awards Round where a new set of judges determined the first, second, and third place order.
Winners of this year’s competition in each division, with a total of $16,000 in cash prizes, were as follows:
Classical Emerging Professional—First Place Angela DeVenuto, Second Place Amber Monroe, Third Place Max Riebl
Classical University Advanced—First Place Kelly Singer, Second Place Austin Sanders, Third Place Sarah Holt
Classical University Intermediate—First Place Aaron Crouch, Second Place Gabrielle Barkidjija, Third Place Brea Marshall
Classical High School—First Place Colin Aikins, Second Place Kerrigan Bigelow, Third Place Jared Werlein
Musical Theatre Pre-Professional—First Place Queade Dweh, Second Place John Haas, Third Place Brielle Amrein
Musical Theatre High School Division—First Place Abhaya Krishnan-jha, Second Place Eric Sebek, Third Place Elisabeth Mies
In addition to cash prizes and contracts, more than 45 singers received scholarship offers totaling in aggregate nearly $2.1 million from over 20 universities and summer programs.
