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| 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.
***
2019 Winners of
The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award
AMY PFRIMMER, soprano
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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.
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| Graphic by Carl Klein |
