Kurt Weill Foundation Unveils Semifinalists for 2026 Lenya Competition

Kim H. Kowalke, President of the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and founder of the Lenya Competition, has announced the eighteen versatile singer-actors who have advanced to the Competition's semifinal round.

The Foundation has simultaneously named Andy Einhorn and Victoria Clark as the artists who will serve in the Competition's unique adjudicator/coach semifinal role. Kowalke commented, "The elite group of semifinalists comprise the top seven percent of the applicant pool. Our two amazing veteran judges will surely enjoy working with them one-on-one but have a tough time choosing among them for this year's finalists."

Ranging in age from 24 to 32 and representing four continents, the semifinalists are:
Justin Burgess (South Lyon, MI)
Lila Chrisp (London, United Kingdom)
Dominic Delzompo (Los Angeles, CA)
Matthew Dexter (McKinney, TX)
Ellie Fishman (Pennington, NJ)
Erik Grendahl (Boydton, VA)
Claire Griffin (Brevard, NC)
Marcus Huber (Lancaster, PA)
Stavros Koumbaros (Shelton, CT)
Francesca Mehrotra (Ashburn, VA)
Madelin Morales (Fairfield, NJ)
Ryan Nash (Longmeadow, MA)
Gemma Nha (Sydney, Australia)
Nienke Nasserian Nillesen (The Hague, Netherlands)
Galilei Njembo (Windhoek, Namibia)
Kaileigh Riess (New York, NY)
Sadie Spivey (State College, PA)
Illana Starr (Washington, DC)

Many of the semifinalists are already pursuing successful professional careers with major credits, including on and off Broadway and on national tours. Past credits of others include appearances with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Opera Australia, Theater Freiburg, Dutch National Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Muny, Goodspeed, Central City, Glimmerglass, and Madison Opera, as well as concert performances with the BBC Philharmonic and LA Master Chorale.

Each semifinalist receives a prize of $1,250 along with a stipend for travel to New York City for their semifinal audition on 26 or 27 March. Contestants receive immediate feedback and coaching from one of the two semifinal judges. Andy Einhorn has served as a judge on eight previous occasions; he has long been Audra McDonald's accompanist and conductor, including service as Music Director of the hit Broadway revival of Gypsy. Likewise a veteran judge of multiple Lenya Competitions is two-time Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and director Victoria Clark. The Competition provides accompanists to contestants free of charge; long-serving collaborative pianists Shane Schag and Lyndon Meyer will participate again this year.

In addition to the semifinalists, three applicants received Emerging Talent Awards with a prize of $750 each: James Cortes, Leila Grace Johnson, and Audrey Logan. Shyheim Hinnant received the Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Achievement in the amount of $750.

The semifinalists compete for the opportunity to advance to the final round, which takes place on Saturday, 9 May 2026, in Rochester, New York. Top prizes are $25,000, $20,000, and $15,000, with total prizes exceeding $120,000. All events will stream live online at www.kwf.org, with an edited multi-camera video available for viewing indefinitely afterwards.