NOOA's Youth Vocal Competition Renamed for Donald W. Wood Sr.

The New Orleans Opera Association ("NOOA") is proud to announce that their Youth Vocal Competition, a collaborative effort with Loyola University New Orleans College of Music and Fine Arts ("Loyola"), Tulane University Department of Music, and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, will now be named "The Donald W. Wood Sr. Competition" (the "Wood Competition").

The Wood Competition is a competition for all Louisiana high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors and was created by Debra Hirsch Wood (NOOA Board Member, Chair of the NOOA Education Committee, and Wood Competition Director). Mrs. Wood and family members have granted funding sufficient for this program to continue in perpetuity in her late husband's name. Mr. Wood loved opera and was supportive of NOOA's educational endeavors. Mr. Wood's six children continue in their father's footsteps in carrying the legacy of supporting the arts in Louisiana. They are Sarah Louise Wood Ham (Scott Ham), Donald William Wood Jr. (Maria Ainsworth Newell Wood), Pearce Friedrichs Wood (Babs Evangelista), Tiffany Shea Hayers (Stuart Hayers), Hunter Whitefield Shea (Christy Liriano Shea), and Emily Madison Eickhoff.

2015-2016 was the inaugural year for NOOA's Wood Competition which was held at Loyola University on October 17, 2015. NOOA is proud to promote artistic excellence and provide assistance and encouragement to young vocalists throughout Louisiana.

NOOA is classified as a public charity and has a (501)(c)(3) tax-exempt status (tax ID 72-0272897); donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

For more about NOOA, visit neworleansopera.org.

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