Oratorio's Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition Unveils Winners

The Oratorio Society of New York, led by Music Director Kent Tritle, has announced the winners of its 48th Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition Finals Concert held at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 1:30 pm.

Tenor Maximillian Jansen received the Robert E. Ludwig Award, earning First Place in the competition and a $7,000 cash prize. Juliet Papadopoulos, soprano, received the Meyerson/Zwanger Award, earning Second Place and a $5,000 prize, and Sarah Coit, mezzo-soprano, received the Janet Plucknett Award, earning Third Place and a $3,000 prize.

Additionally, Veronica Roan, mezzo-soprano, received the Watson Family Award ($2,500 prize), Madeline Healey, soprano, received the Barber Family Award ($1,500 prize), Fredy Bonilla, baritone, received the William Grogan Award ($1,000 prize), Paulina Francisco, soprano, received the Robert and Winifred Connelly Green Award ($1,000 prize), and Helaine Liebman-London, soprano, received the Leopold O. Damrosch Award ($1,000 prize).

Competition Finals judges included Ryan James Brandau, Lianne Coble-Dispensa, Warren Jones, Sidney Outlaw, and Kent Tritle. Collaborative Pianist Amir Farid accompanied the finalists in performance.

The prestigious annual Oratorio-Solo Competition was inaugurated in 1977 and encourages the art of oratorio singing, providing young singers the opportunity to advance their careers.

The OSNY concludes its 2024-25 season with the world premiere of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s All Shall Rise, as well as Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang on Monday, May 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Joining the Society, Maestro Tritle, and the Orchestra of the Society for this performance are soloists Susanna Phillips, soprano, Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano, Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, tenor, and Steven Eddy, baritone.

About the Oratorio Society of New York

The Oratorio Society of New York is one of the oldest musical organizations in the United States and has become New York City’s standard for grand choral performance. Founded in 1873 by Leopold Damrosch, the Society has played an integral role in the musical life of the city. In its early years, the Society established a fund to finance the building of a new concert hall, a cause taken up in earnest by the Society’s fifth president, Andrew Carnegie. In 1891, under the direction of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the Society helped inaugurate this new Music Hall, which would be renamed Carnegie Hall several years later.

The Society continues to perform several times each season at Carnegie Hall. Its annual performances of Handel’s Messiah, a New York holiday tradition unbroken since 1874, have become a holiday favorite with New York audiences. In addition to its collaborations with the New York Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as other performing arts institutions, the Society performs internationally every few years – including recent concerts in Japan, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, and Brazil.

The Society is also committed to commissioning and championing new works, including most recently three pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and Grammy Award-winning librettist Mark Campbell: Sanctuary Road which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award and is available from Naxos Records, A Nation of Others, which saw its premiere in November 2022 and is available from Lexicon Classics, and All Shall Rise, focusing on voting rights in the U.S., to be premiered in 2025.