Out of a pool of 175 aspiring opera singers from across the country, theCanadian Opera Company has selectedseven to compete at Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition Gala today, November 25, 2014 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
This year hosted by world renowned Canadian tenor Ben Heppner,Centre Stage is the COC's annual fundraising gala dedicated to the discovery and celebration of the next generation of opera stars. TheEnsemble Studio Competition is the gala's feature event and an exhilarating vocal showcase with the singers, selected from nationwide auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio - Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals - vying for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 to $5,000.
The young singers featured in the 2014 vocal competition are: mezzo-soprano Zoe Band(Toronto); soprano Eliza Johnson (Stratford, Ont.); baritone Dimitri Katotakis(Toronto); baritone Nathan Keoughan (Charlottetown); tenor Aaron Sheppard (St. John's, N.L.); mezzo-soprano Michelle Siemens (Calgary); and tenor Charles Sy(Toronto). This year's seven finalists were chosen following preliminary auditions in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and New York City. At Centre Stage today, November 25, each finalist will give a performance showcasing their vocal technique and range before an audience and panel of judges. First, second and third prizes, worth $5,000, $3,000 and $1,500, are awarded, in addition to an Audience Choice Award, selected by audience vote, worth $1,500. Select finalists are also invited to join the COC's 2015/2016 Ensemble Studio, to be announced at a later date.About the Ensemble Studio Competition - The Ensemble Studio Competition features singers from the final round of auditions for the COC Ensemble Studio, Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals, competing for cash prizes ranging in value from $1,500 - $5,000. The competition was launched in 2011 by COC General Director Alexander Neef to showcase the opera talent the COC had scouted from across the country and create a public platform for celebrating the future of opera in Canada.
With the creation of Centre Stage, the COC opened the Ensemble Studio Competition to an audience of over 1,000 opera lovers and interested guests as it moved from the intimate setting of the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre to R. Fraser Elliott Hall. In 2013, the competition finalists were showcased as never before as they performed with an orchestra led by a world-renowned conductor from the mainstage of the COC's opera house. The annual Ensemble Studio audition process, open only to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, takes COC artistic staff across Canada and into the U.S. for preliminary auditions in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and New York, followed by a final callback audition at the COC's Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre in Toronto. It's from this pool of singers that finalists are selected for the Ensemble Studio Competition. About the COC Ensemble Studio - The COC Ensemble Studio is Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals. Since the inception of the program in 1980, over 180 young professional Canadian singers, opera coaches, stage directors and conductors have acquired their first major professional operatic experience through the Ensemble Studio. Former members include Ben Heppner, Isabel Bayrakdarian, John Fanning, Wendy Nielsen, Joseph Kaiser, David Pomeroy, Lauren Segal and Krisztina Szabó. The members of the Ensemble Studio are the COC's resident artists and important ambassadors for the company. They receive a blend of advanced study and practical experience through an individually tailored, multi-year program, involving understudying and performing mainstage roles, intensive vocal coaching, language and acting studies, and career skills development, as well as participation in masterclasses with internationally renowned opera professionals.About the Canadian Opera Company - Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The COC enjoys a loyal audience support-base and one of the highest attendance and subscription rates in North America. Under its leadership team of General Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Johannes Debus, the COC is increasingly capturing the opera world's attention. The COC maintains its international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation by creating new productions within its diverse repertoire, collaborating with leading opera companies and festivals, and attracting the world's foremost Canadian and international artists. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, hailed internationally as one of the finest in the world. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, the Four Seasons Centre opened in 2006. For more information on the COC, visit its award-winning website, coc.ca.
Photo Credit: (top row, l-r) mezzo-soprano Zoe Band; soprano Eliza Johnson; baritone Dimitri Katotakis; (bottom row, l-r) baritone Nathan Keoughan; tenor Aaron Sheppard; mezzo-soprano Michelle Siemens; and tenor Charles Sy.
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