The 2026 George London Award Winners Are Announced

The winners of the 54th George and Nora London Foundation Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers were announced February 20 at the conclusion of the final round held at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City. A total of $80,000 in awards was presented.

Sopranos Tiffany Choe, Adia Evans, and Anna Thompson; baritones Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha and Korin Thomas-Smith; and bass-baritone Nicholas Newton each received George London Awards of $12,000. Four additional finalists received George London Encouragement Awards of $2,000 each.

Of 180 applicants, ten finalists were selected to perform in the final round. Each finalist presented one selection before a panel of judges that included mezzo-soprano Susan Quittmeyer, tenor Dimitri Pittas, bass James Morris, Matthew Horner of IMG Artists, and soprano Gayletha Nichols, who chaired the jury. John Arida served as pianist. Awards were announced by Foundation President John Hauser following deliberations.

GEORGE LONDON AWARDS ($12,000 each)

Tiffany Choe, soprano (29, Orange County, CA), sang “Senza mamma” from Suor Angelica by Puccini.
Adia Evans, soprano (32, Baltimore, MD), sang “Es gibt ein Reich” from Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss.
Anna Thompson, soprano (26, Rochester, MI), sang “Dis-moi que je suis belle” from Thaïs by Massenet.
Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha, baritone (26, San Diego, CA), sang “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen” from Die tote Stadt by Korngold.
Korin Thomas-Smith, baritone (29, Toronto, Canada), sang “Come un’ape ne’ giorni d’aprile” from La Cenerentola by Rossini.
Nicholas Newton, bass-baritone (32, San Diego, CA), sang “Aleko’s Cavatina” from Aleko by Rachmaninoff.

GEORGE LONDON ENCOURAGEMENT AWARDS ($2,000 each)

Jennifer Robinson, soprano (23, Lakeland, FL)
Grace Ryan, mezzo-soprano (25, Bartlett, IL)
Maiya Williams, mezzo-soprano (26, Hutto, TX)
Matthew Sink, tenor (29, Las Vegas, NV)

Since 1971, the George and Nora London Foundation has presented more than 300 awards totaling over $2 million to young opera singers. Past winners include Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Ryan Speedo Green, Catherine Malfitano, James Morris, Eric Owens, Dimitri Pittas, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Neil Shicoff, Dawn Upshaw, and Willard White.

The George and Nora London Foundation will present two 2025 George London Award winners, soprano Shelén Hughes Camacho and baritone Joseph Parrish, in recital on April 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Merkin Hall, with Amir Farid at the piano.

Founded by bass-baritone George London and his wife Nora, the foundation supports young singers through its annual competition, recital series, and scholarships for pre-college students at The Juilliard School. Additional information is available at www.georgeandnoralondon.org.