Annapolis Opera's Twentieth Vocal Competition

Martha L. Banks  -  Soprano Vocal Selections: "Tu che di gelsei cinta" from Turandot by Puccini, "Je di que rein ne m'épouvante" from Carmen by Bizet. Prize: Study Award - The Links of Annapolis Award  ($500.00).  The Links of Annapolis is part of a worldwide volunteer service organization for women of color.  It is committed to enriching and sustaining and ensuring the cultural and economic survival of African Americans.  It promotes four programs: Services to Youth, International Trends, National Trends, and the Arts. Biography: Soprano Martha Banks is a native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She recently graduated with a Master of Music Degree in Opera Performance from The Boston Conservatory. At the Conservatory Miss Banks performed title roles in main stage operas, as well as staged opera scenes. These roles include: Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Countessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Susannah in Susannah, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  In 2007, she participated in NATS Boston Chapter, and won second place in the finals. Miss Banks was a Young Artist for Seagle Music Colony for the past two summers.  In summer 2007 she was a proud recipient of the Lisa Reid Scholarship. Miss Banks has a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Art Degree in French from Hood College.
Jay Jung - Baritone Vocal Selections: "Madamina!" from Don Giovanni by Mozart, "O du mein Holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser by Wagner. Prize: Grand Prize - The Grace Gelinas Clark Memorial Award ($2,000.00). Grace Clark moved with her husband and family to Annapolis, Maryland in 1940, when her husband began his 38-year career as a professor and coach at the U.S. Naval Academy.  Mrs. Clark founded the Annapolis Civic Ballet Company and the Grace Clark School of the Dance.  She taught thousands of students in the Annapolis area the Cecchetti Methord of Ballet.  During her 40-year career as a ballet teacher and choreographer, Mrs. Clark brought great beauty and joy to the many audiences who attended the performances.  Mrs. Clark studied with famed Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis as well as the Royal Academy of Ballet in London, England.  Her daughter, Grace Victoria Clark Waidner, and her son, William Ellery Clark give this award. Prize: The Director/Conductor Award ($500.00). The donors of this award are Ronald Gretz, Annapolis Opera's Conductor and Musical Director and Braxton Peters, Annapolis Opera's Stage Director.  Both have served as adjudicators for our Vocal Competition.  Messrs. Peters and Gretz offer the award as an incentive to the Grand Prize winner to pursue an operatic career. Biography: Baritone Jay Jung’s roles include Leporello in Don Giovanni, Figaro in Le nozze di figaro, Enrico in Il campanello di notte, Pistol in Falstaff, Schlemil/Luther in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. In November 2007 he made his Opera Delaware debut as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly. In 2004, Mr. Jung was chosen by The Cleveland Art Song Festival and studied with Warren Jones, Stephanie Blythe, David Daniels and Martin Katz. In 2005 he performed the title role in Le nozze di Figaro at the Johanna Meier Opera Institute. He sang for the 2007 Yonsei University Alumni Concert at Carnegie Hall. He has been a first place award recipient in the 2004 Akron Symphony Chorus John MacDonald Vocal Scholarship Competition, 2001-02 Cleveland Singer’s Club Scholarship Competition, NATS Competition in 2001, Ohio District and 2002, Great Lake District. Born in Korea, Mr. Jung studied voice and opera at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Boyer College of Music of Temple University in Philadelphia with Dr. William Stone.
	Sunji Kim - Lyric Coloratura Soprano Vocal Selections: "Quel guardo, il cavaliere" from Don Pasquale byDonizetti, "The Willow Song" from The Ballad of Baby Doe by Moore. Prize: Second Prize - The William Boldyga and Betty S. Myers Incentive Award ($1,700.00). This award is given by Bill Boldyga and Betty Meters to encourage the development of operatic talent and the vocal arts in Annapolis.  Biography:  Soprano Sungji Kim is equally adept in opera, recital, concert, and contemporary music. Her opera debut was as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Seoul Art Center. She has sung: Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Gilda in Rigoletto, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia, and Nannetta in Falstaff with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra; Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Bastienne in Bastien und Bastienne, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Monica in The Medium and Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro at the Merola Young Artist Program (San Francisco Opera); Alcina in Alcina and Aricie in Hippolyte et Aricie at the Pacific Music Festival (Japan); Galatea in Acis and Galatea, Lakmé in Lakmé, and Creuse in Médeé by Darius Milhaud. Born in South Korea, Ms. Kim obtained her B.M. degree cum laude at Seoul University, her M.M. degree at the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Professional Studies Diploma at the Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Kim won the Liederkranz Foundation Competition, the Sembrich Voice Scholarship Competition, the Anna Moffo Memorial Soprano Competition, and the Goethe Institute German Lieder Competition. She was a finalist at the International Opera Singers Competition of the Center for Contemporary Opera and National Opera Association Vocal Competition. Upcoming engagements include soloist in The Creation at the Bucks County Presbyterian Church, recitals (with a classical guitar) in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and the role Zerlina in Fra Diavolo at the Concert Opera Philadelphia.
	Claire Kuttler - Soprano Vocal Selections: "Mesicku na nebi hlubokém" from Rusalka by Dvorak, "Donde lieta" from La Boéhme  by Puccini, "The Jewel Song" from Faust by Gounod. Prize: Third Prize - The Lindley Incentive Award ($1,500.00). This award is given by Mark and Nancy Lindley in honor of their son,  Dr. Karl Solibakke, whose dedication to the discipline and art of opera was seminal in his development as a scholar with a deep understanding of the intersection of the literary and musical arts.  The donors wish to to encourage the recipient  of the Lindley Incentive Award to grow both musically and personally. Biography:  Soprano Claire Kuttler is a native of Davenport, Iowa. She has performed as the Second Lady in The Magic Flute with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, 2nd Cercatrice in Suor Angelica with the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, and Elaine O’Neil in the world premiere of John Musto’s Later that Same Evening, which was inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, with the Maryland Opera Studio. Upcoming performances include Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with the Maryland Opera Studio, and Mimi in La Bohème with Bel Cantanti Opera. In the summer of 2008 she will be a studio artist with Central City Opera. Concert performances include Vaughn Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem with Handel Oratorio Society, Rock Island, Illinois, Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem for the René Clausen Choral School with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, and Britten’s Rejoice in the  Lamb with the Concordia College Choir. Awards include second place in the Schubert Club Scholarship Competition-Advanced Voice, 2nd Place, the North Dakota District Metropolitan Opera Auditions-Encouragement Award, and being the Minneapolis/St. Paul Edvard Grieg Society-Inaugural Festival Recitalist. Ms. Kuttler graduated Magna cum Laude with a degree in Vocal Performance from Concordia College and anticipates completing the M.M. in Opera Performance with the Opera Studio at the University of Maryland, College Park in May, 2008. Teachers include Gran Wilson and Claudia Catania.
Ku Won Lee - Baritone Vocal Selections: "Credo in un Dio" from Otello by Verdi, "Warm as the autumn light" from The Ballad of Baby Doe by Moore. Prize: Study Award - Col. Harry Lindauer Memorial Award ($500.00) Thea and David Lindauer give the Col. Harry Lindauer Memorial Award in honor of her late husband and his father, whose service to his country, his community, his family, and Annapolis Opera was always above and beyond the call of duty. Biography:  Baritone Ku Won Lee has sung the title role and Leporello in Don Giovanni, the title role in Falstaff, Chamberlain in Rossignol, the four villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Frank in Edgar. In summer 2008 he will sing the title role in Rigoletto at the Tusia Opera Festival in Italy. He has performed many leading roles in opera scenes with the Temple University Opera Workshop and performed with the Academy of Vocal Arts Chorus in Die Zauberflaute, Lucia di Lammermoor, Faust, and L’elisir d’amore. After graduating from Han Yang University in Korea, he attended the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, and received a Master of Music Degree from Temple University. He has won the Pi Kappa Lambda Music Competition and the Korea Young Artist Vocal Competition. He has studied with Carlos Serrano and Dr. Philip Cho.
Jessica M. Lennick - Soprano Vocal Selections: "Have Peace, Jo" from Little Women by Adamo, "Ach, ich fülh's" from Die Zauberflöte by Mozart. Prize: Study Award - The Severn Town Club Award ($500.00). The Severn Town Club is a chapter in the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, which operates in forty countries and includes 300,000 members. The club’s objectives are to promote the common interest, to develop its members and promote the welfare of the community. The Severn Town Club gives back to the community through funds raised at the Holly Ball. Biography: Soprano Jessica Lennick is overjoyed to be in her first year of graduate studies at Peabody, where she studies with Phyllis Bryn-Julson. In the spring she will be singing the Queen of the Night in the Peabody mainstage production of Die Zauberflöte. In keeping with this trend of unmitigated evil, in November she appeared as the Sorceress in the Peabody Chamber Opera production of Dido and Aeneas. Ms. Lennick recently graduated Magna cum Laude with a B.M. in Vocal Performance from West Chester University. As an undergraduate there she performed the role of Amy in Little Women by Adamo and Angelina in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. She also appeared with their symphony orchestra as Elvira from I Puritani and in various concert appearances as Lakmé and Papagena. A frequent recitalist and soloist, she appeared with the Collegium Musicum at West Chester and also on tours with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Chester County (GSSCC).
	Danielle Pastin - Soprano Vocal Selections: "Ah, fors è lui...Sempre libera" from La Traviata by Verdi, "Si, mi chiamano Mimi" from La Bohèmeby Puccini. Prize:  Fourth Prize - The Dr. Paul and Mrs. Herta Lagally Memorial Award and The Todd Duncan Award  ($1300.00). In 1987, the Lagally family established a prize in memory of Dr. Paul Lagally, Ph.D.,  to promote the vocal arts in Annapolis He was a much-recognized research scientist with the Naval Ship Research and Development Center in Annapolis. The Lagally prize initiated the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition. Today, the prize is awarded from the Herta Lagally endowment administered by Ralph Lagally. Herta Lagally, Paul’s wife, served Annapolis Opera in many capacities from costume mistress to president of the Board of Trustees. Rose Thorman gives The Todd Duncan Award in remembrance of her vocal teacher, Todd Duncan, whose performance as the original Porgy in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess broke new ground. Mr. Duncan also is remembered for his Broadway performance in Lost in the Stars for which he won numerous awards. Prize: Audience Choice Award - The DiLeonardo-Musterman Award ($300.00). This award is given by Anna Marie Musterman, former president of the Annapolis Opera, and her husband Powell J. Musterman, Jr. to honor the memory of Anna Marie's father, Antonio DiLeonardo.  As she says, "He is always sitting beside me, singing opera just for me." Biography:  Although growing up in a Navy family that enjoyed travel and living in many places in the nation and abroad, soprano Danielle Pastin calls Annapolis, Maryland her home. She received her Opera Performance degree at the University of Maryland, where she studied with Martha Randall. Her awards and distinctions include: finalist in the Metropolitan Opera, National Council Auditions, and the National Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition; the Fine Arts Foundation Fellowship with the Central City Opera Company; and both 1st and 2nd place winner in the Maryland State NATSAA and NATS Regional Competitions. Professionally, Ms. Pastin has performed the roles of: Nannetta in The Interemezzo Opera Festival’s 2007 production of Falstaff and Lucinda, in the World Premiere of Henry Molicone’s Gabriel’s Daughter with The Central City Opera Company. Ms. Pastin looks forward to being involved with the Pittsburgh Opera Company’s Young Artist Program where she has most recently accepted the role of Rosasharn, in the November 2008, East Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera The Grapes of Wrath.
Michelle Rice - Mezzo-Soprano Vocal Selections: "Smanie implacabili" from Così fan tutte by Mozart, "Aria Ionni" from Orleanskaya Deva by Tchaikovsky. Prize: Study Award - The Hughes Award ($500.00).  George and Madeline Hughes give this award in honor of their numerous young grandchildren to encourage their love of opera and the world of music. Biography:  Mezzo-soprano Michelle Rice's performance credits include: Gertrude (Roméo et Juliette), Flora (La Traviata), and Mrs. Segstrom (A Little Night Music) for Opera Cleveland; Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) for Annapolis Opera; Mrs. Grose in Britten's The Turn of the Screw with Opera Cleveland, Opera Vivente, and at the Kennedy Center conducted by Maestro Lorin Maazel; Irene (Tamburlaine) for Opera Vivente; the Witch and the Mother (Hänsel and Gretel) and the Gypsy Woman (Rachmaninoff's Aleko) for Bel Cantanti; Carmen in Le tragédie de Carmen; and performed title role in a rare production of Holst’s Savitri for the InSeries. She premiered the title role in Clara (based on the life of Clara Schumann), composed by Robert Convery on a commission from the Maryland Opera Studio, to much critical acclaim. Ms. Rice’s concert credits include a lauded performance of Verdi's Requiem with James Morris and Sharon Sweet conducted by James Ross, Albina in Rossini's La donna del lago, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Mozart's Krönungs-Messe, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Vivaldi's Gloria, and numerous recitals with organizations/venues including the Washington Concert Opera, Carnegie Hall, the University of Maryland and University of Washington Symphonies, the Seattle Early Music Guild, and the Seattle Symphony Summer Sings program. Ms. Rice holds degrees from the University of Washington and the University of Maryland, College Park. She placed first in the 2006 Bell T. Ritchie Awards, was twice a finalist in the Liederkranz Vocal Competition, and has won prizes from the American Bach Society, the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, the Seattle Musical Art Society, and the Mary Levine Scholarship Fund. Later this season she will perform the role of Anna in the American premiere of Jonathan Dove's Tobias and the Angel with Opera Vivente.