SOLOISTS for the Beethoven Ninth Symphony Annnounced—winners of The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award

The CBASO, CBA Chorus and Guest Choirs at Symphony Center, Chicago

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the 2019 winners of The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Awards.

For the eighth consecutive year, in addition to the national voice competitions outlined on The American Prize website, contestants for The American Prize in Vocal Performance, 2019-20, were invited to also apply for The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award, the opportunity to be selected as soloists to appear under Maestro David Katz's baton in concert with the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra, the CBA Chorus and guest choirs—more than three hundred lawyer-musicians and friends in all—this season performing the choral finale (4th movement) of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, in concerts entitled "ODE to JOY!"

Performances will be Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 3pm at St. John Brebeuf Church, Niles, IL, and Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 8pm at Symphony Center / Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the Beethoven, the concerts will feature three orchestra-member soloists in concerto movements, the Chicago premiere of "Celebration Overture" by The American Prize laureate composer, Christoper Lowry, and selections by the massed choirs, those under the baton of CBA Chorus Director, Stephen Blackwelder.

The Symphony Center performance marks the third time that the CBASO and CBA Chorus have presented major concerts in that hallowed hall, having performed "Carmina Burana" there in 2011 and "Something Wonderful" a concert of the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, in 2015.

Here are ticket links:
June 2nd—bit.ly/OdeToJoy_Nilesbit.ly/OdeToJoy_Niles
June 22nd—bit.ly/OdeToJoy_Orchestra Hall 

REMINDER: The postmark deadline to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019, with extensions available to Monday, July 1, 2019 for those who need more time. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

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2019 Winners of 
The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award

AMY PFRIMMER, soprano

AMY PFRIMMER, soprano

Soprano AMY PFRIMMER has sung across the US, Europe, and Canada including appearances with the London Symphony, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Baltimore Choral Arts, Montréal Opera, New Orleans Opera, Bulgarian State Opera Stara Zagora, Illinois Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Mississippi Opera, Atlanta Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and Virginia Symphony. She collaborated frequently with the late pianist/composer Dave Brubeck in his Mass, To Hope! A Celebration, and La Fiesta de la Posada and soloed regularly with Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band.

Pfrimmer is Tulane University’s Lillian Gerson Watsky Professor in voice. She serves as Tulane’s voice area coordinator/concert vocal series director. She is sought after for high energy, interactive master classes, and is a respected contest adjudicator. Awards for the soprano include Tulane University's USG Crest Award for Outstanding Faculty Member, Louisiana Division of the Arts Fellowship, Metropolitan Opera Education Fund and Florida Grand Opera’s Gilbert Artist of the Year.

With MSR Classics label, Pfrimmer has released two recordings: Souvenance: Mélodies and Organ Works of César Franck and Eternal Life: Sacred Songs and Spirituals.

Specific projects in 2014-2018 have included Schönberg’s expressionist mono-drama Pierrot Lunaire (Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra), the tragic title characters in Verdi’s La Traviata and Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly (State Opera Stara Zagora Bulgaria), and Mozart’s heroine Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Lawrence Opera Theatre Kansas). With New Orleans Opera she appeared as Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen, Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld as Juno, Kitty Hart in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and the title character in Friedl.

She also gave concerts featuring the music of César Franck, St. Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Händel’s Messiah, and sang Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. National/international recitals include Absolutely American!, American Summer Dream, and From New Orleans to Bulgaria featuring the works of American composers Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, William Bolcom, Carlisle Floyd, Moses Hogan, Rudolf Friml, Cole Porter, and Richard Hundley and Bulgarian composer Parashkev Hadjiev. With pianist Dreux Montegut, Pfrimmer created and performed a solo program Cabaret Soirée! featuring the American songbook composers Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Kurt Weill. She has been a regular soloist with the Marine Corps Band-New Orleans, and New Orleans Chamber Orchestra. Additionally, Pfrimmer has appeared in several French concert series: Vendredi Soirées at St. Pierre le Jeune and Les Estivales de St. Guillaume in Strasbourg, L’Abbaye de Royaumont, as well as The American Cathedral and St. Eustache in Paris.


ANN CRAVERO, mezzo-soprano

ANN CRAVERO, mezzo-soprano

Ann Belluso Cravero, acclaimed mezzo-soprano recitalist and soloist, has been heard on stages in Italy, China, and throughout the United States including repeat performances at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.  Cravero's vocal engagements include The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Heartland Festival Orchestra, The International Lyric Academy Orchestra Italy, The Rome Festival Orchestra, The Alexander and Buono Festival Italy, Festivale Cantus Angeli Italy, The Lyric Symphony Orchestra CA, The Bach Festival IL, The Hancher Center for the Performing Arts, The Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, the Des Moines Civic Center, IA, and The Overture Center.

Ann Cravero has performed lead opera roles including the staged adaption of The Diary of Virginia Woolf under the direction of Håkan Hagegård honoring Dominick Argento who was in attendance (Source Song Festival), The Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theatre at the University of Iowa, the Northland Opera Theatre, and the Rome Festival Opera in Rome, Italy. Ann also participated as an apprentice artist for the Des Moines Metro Opera.  Cravero has served on the faculty of Milnes' Savannah Voice Festival, and the International Lyric Academy Italy with Stefano Vignati and Claudio Ferri.

Highly sought after for her interpretation of New Music, Dr. Cravero has performed with the Center for New Music in Iowa City, IA, including performances of works by Scott Dunn, Geoffrey Gordon, Bernard Rands, and Raffaele Grimaldi. Cravero also coached with Stephen Paulus and soloed two performances of his work, To Be Certain of the Dawn. In the fall of 2009 she was commissioned by the Iowa Composers’ Forum to tour IA with pianist Miko Kominami, and also premiered works for ICF in 2015. Ann has been featured on RAI TV in Italy and frequently broadcast on Iowa Public Radio.

Ann is the district winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award competition, and the recipient of honorable mention for the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Audition. She is the recipient of the Donald Walker Vocal Scholarship for outstanding vocal achievement at the University of Iowa, and receiver of outstanding academic achievement in the field of Music Education from Bradley University, and winner of the Bradley University Piano Concerto Competition. She has performed in master classes with Frederica von Stade and Michèle Crider, and coached with Cheryl Studer and Richard Boldrey. Cravero recently presented Mahler's 2nd Symphony with soprano, Michèle Crider for the re-dedication of Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City at the University of Iowa under the direction of William L. Jones.

Dr. Cravero is Associate Professor of Voice at Drake University, and an active participant of The National Association of Teachers of Singing. Ann released an album of duets with soprano Camelia Voin and pianist Nicholas Roth (‘Endless Noise’ Studio) in Santa Monica, CA Dr. Cravero holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Iowa where she studied with Stephen Swanson and Katherine Eberle, and a Bachelor of Music Education with emphasis on Piano and Voice from Bradley University. For further information on the artist please visit anncravero.com or at https://www.facebook.com/anncraveromezzosoprano/


PATRICK MUEHLEISE, tenor

PATRICK MUEHLEISE, tenor

Praised for his “real musicality and finely executed coloratura,” Patrick Muehleise is an acclaimed American tenor specializing in a wide variety of concert soloist repertoire and known for his “beautiful, evenly produced lyric tenor” and “pure tone.” Recent engagements include Mozart’s Requiem with Xian Zhang at the Aspen Music Festival, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 under the baton of Jane Glover, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with both Elmhurst Symphony and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Bach’s B Minor Mass with Bach Akademie Charlotte, Reich’s The Desert Music with New World Symphony, the role of Pan in the fully-staged period performance of Cavalli’s La Calisto with Haymarket Opera Company of Chicago; and continues this season performing Handel’s Messiah with Winston-Salem Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem with True Concord of Tucson, Bach’s B Minor Mass with Back Bay Chorale of Boston and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In addition to his work as a concert soloist, Patrick is a regular member of Grammy-nominated and award winning ensembles such as Seraphic Fire, True Concord, Chicago Symphony Chorus, as well as Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, and has taken the stage with Aspen Chamber Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, and The Cleveland Orchestra.

This season Patrick continues his residency at the University of California-Los Angeles for the second academic year and will return to the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival for his second year as Artist-Faculty in partnership with the Grammy-nominated Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute.

In 2016, Mr. Muehleise was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category for his collaboration on True Concord’s album “Far In The Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus” which won the award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. An active member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Patrick can be heard on six nationally released recordings with Grammy-nominated ensembles.


LEO RADOSAVLJEVIC, bass-baritone

LEO RADOSAVLJEVIC, bass-baritone

Recent Third-Prize Winner of the International Klaudia Taev Competition in Estonia and winner of The American Prize Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award in Voice in 2014, Bass-Baritone Leo Radosavljevic is making a name for himself as a unique performer in the world of opera. Born in Chicago Illinois, Leo spent his childhood playing piano and singing in the children's chorus at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where his love for opera first began. He attended Juilliard from 2007-2013, receiving both BM and MM degrees in voice under Dr. Robert C. White. While at Juilliard, he sang several operatic roles including Bottom in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Simone in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and Tobia Mill in Rossini's La Cambiale di Matrimonio. In addition to his operatic roles, Leo received composition lessons from Dr. Phillip Lasser for much of his time at Juilliard, and received Scholastic Distinction in 2010 for his thesis, The Lieder of Ludwig van Beethoven: Introductory Studies in an Infrequently Performed Opus. In 2011, he gave the U.S. premiere of the role of Willi Graf in Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Kommilitonen!, where he played piano and sang simultaneously from the stage, winning him critical acclaim from The New York Times. Since his time at Juilliard, Leo has performed around Europe and the United States, most recently as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte with DuPage Opera, as Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Opera Colorado, in recital at the Ravinia Festival, as soloist with Juilliard 415, in their west coast tour and Canadian Broadcasting Company recording of Telemann's rarely heard Die Tageszeiten. This summer he will join the roster of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, performing in Regina and La Traviata. He will then participate in the inaugural season of Teatro Nuovo, formally Bel Canto at Caramoor, as Orbazzano in Rossini’s Tancredi, conducted by Will Crutchfield. Leo currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, and is continuing his vocal studies with Julia Faulkner.

Graphic by Carl Klein