The 2022 Finals were held on May 6th at Merkin Hall in New York City.

Judges: Phillip Boykin, Robin Guarino, Jeanine Tesori

Winners:
First Prize: Amanda Sheriff
Second Prize: Ruth Acheampong and Katrina Galka
Third Prize: Jeremy Weiss
Rebecca Luker Award: Ronald Wilbur for “Night Song” from Golden Boy

Awards to non-finalists:
Grace Keagy Awards for Outstanding Vocal Promise: Valeria Gorbunova and Hallie Schmidt
Emerging Talent Awards: Nick Capodilupo, Grace Craig, Victoria Hill, Tess Levine, Zach Simpson, Layla Vafiadis, Gillian Weatherford

As the judges deliberated and decided who the next winners would be, six competition alumni treated the audience at Merkin Hall to a recital of musical theater and opera selections. The concert was hosted by Tony-winning actor and director Victoria Clark, and featured a collection of prizewinners spanning 20 years of the competition’s history.

Watch the alumni concert here

The 2021 Finals were held on 28 August 2021, at the Riverside Theater in New York City.

Judges: Victoria Clark, Andy Einhorn, Mary Beth Peil

Winners:
First Prize: Andrew Polec
Second Prize: Victoria Okafor
Third Prize: Charles Eaton and Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod

Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number: Katrina Galka and Kaileigh Riess
Carolyn Weber Award: Max Chernin
Kurt Weill Award: Rebekah Howell
Rebecca Luker Award: Taylor-Alexis DuPont

Awards to non-finalists:
Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise: Katherine Beck
Emerging Talent Awards: Haley Dortch, Nicole Goldstein, Lydia Graham, Brandon Roth, Eric Sebek, Ruby Shadley, Ayaka Shimada and David Young

Scheduled for 2 May 2020, the Finals were canceled. Twelve finalists were selected at the Semifinals, 11-12 March. The 2020 Competition was open to singers who were born after 2 May 1987 and before 22 January 2001.

Winners: All finalists received the KWF Trustees’ Award. Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod (Tel Aviv, Israel/Vienna, Austria), Anighya Crocker (Springfield, TN), Dylan Glenn (Pleasant Grove, UT), Rivers Hawkins (Columbia, SC), Jonah Hoskins (Saratoga Springs, UT), Elena Howard-Scott (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), Gemma Nha (Sydney, Australia), Marie Oppert (Paris, France), Teresa Perrotta (Orlando, FL), Lauren Senden (North Mankato, MN), Jeremy Weiss (Charlottesville, VA), Ronald Wilbur (Atlanta, GA).

Awards to non-finalists: Sydney Clarke (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Melanie Dubil (Horsham, PA), Emily Holguin (Austin, TX), Kassondra Kardos (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Nicole Maridan (Katy, TX), Sadie Spivey (State College, PA), Kodiak Thompson (Hershey, PA), and Katie Yeomans (Franklin, TN), Emerging Talent Awards.

13 April 2019, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 14 April 1986 and before 22 January 2000.

Judges: Adam Benzwi, Ute Gfrerer, Mark Lamos.

Winners: Daniel Berryman (Seattle, WA), First Prize; Andrea Wozniak (Boston, MA), Second Prize; Trevor Martin (Fayetteville, GA), Third Prize; Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number: Nyla Watson (Cleveland, OH); Lys Symonette Award for Extraordinary Artistic Promise: Jonah Hoskins (Saratoga Springs, UT); Marc Blitzstein Award: Katherine Riddle (Washington, DC); Carolyn Weber Award: Jeremy Weiss (Charlottesville, VA).

Awards to non-finalists: Isaac Frishman (Downers Grove, IL), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Jenna Barbieri (College Park, MD), Sondrine Bontemps (Syracuse, NY), Katie Kallaus (Stevens Point, WI), Maxwell Levy (New York, NY), Lee Metaxa (Cedar Park, TX), Kaylee Terrell (Cary, NC), Elsie Wagner Sherer (New York, NY), Emerging Talent Awards.

14 April 2018, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 15 April 1985 and before 23 January 1999.

Judges: Victoria Clark, James Holmes, Jack Viertel.

Winners: John Brancy (Mullica Hill, NJ), Caroline Hewitt (Houston, TX), and Laura Corina Sanders (San Francisco, CA), $15,000 Winners; Christian Douglas (Towson, MD), Reilly Nelson (Sault Ste. Marie, ON), and Philip Stoddard (Phoenix, AZ), $10,000 Winners; Christof Messner (Vienna, Austria), Carolyn Weber Award ($3,500); Richard Glöckner (Salzburg, Austria) and Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod (Tel Aviv, Israel), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number ($3,500); Nkrumah Gatling (Houston, TX), Marc Blitzstein Award ($3,500).

Awards to non-finalists: Shannon Jennings (Pittsburgh, PA), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Keenan Buckley (Ithaca, NY), Emily Harkins (Syracuse, NY), Marlene Jubelius (Osnabrück, Germany), Sarah Jane Juliano (Smithtown, NY), Claire Leyden (New York, NY), Grace Roberts (London, UK), and Trevor Todd (Northfield, MN), Emerging Talent Awards.

22 April 2017, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 23 April 1984 and before 24 January 1998.

Judges: Anne Bogart, Shuler Hensley, Rob Berman.

Winners: Bradley Smoak (Cary, NC), First Prize; Felipe Bombonato (Gainesville, FL), Second Prize; Paulina Villarreal (Torreón, Mexico), Third Prize; Curtis Bannister (Green Bay, WI). Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod (Tel Aviv, Israel), Molly Dunn (South Orange, NJ), Jasmine Habersham (Macon, GA), Michael Hewitt (Denver, CO), Philip Kalmanovitch (Ottawa, ON), Marie Oppert (Paris, France), Tony Potts (Fargo, ND), Taylor Raven (Fayetteville, NC), Katherine Riddle (Crownsville, MD), and Lisa Marie Rogali (Bergenfield, NJ) all received Special Awards of $3,000 each.

Awards to non-finalists: Jennifer Witton (London, UK), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Danielle Bavli (New York, NY), Annette Berning (New York, NY), Tucker Breder (Lansdale, PA), Kalyn Schnabel (Brooklyn, NY), Juliane Stolzenbach Ramos (Freiburg, Germany), Trevor Vanderzee (Chicago, IL), Emerging Talent Awards.

16 April 2016, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1983 and before 1 January 1997.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Theodore S. Chapin, Andy Einhorn.

Winners: Jim Schubin (Plainsboro, NJ) and Brian Vu (Los Angeles), First Prizes; Dennis Wees (Dallas, TX), Second Prize; Talya Lieberman (Forest Hills, NY) and Eric Michael Parker (Los Angeles), Third Prizes; Tom Schimon (Vienna, Austria) and Reilly Nelson (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada), Carolyn Weber Awards; Lindsay O’Neil (New York), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number; Bradley Smoak (Cary, NC), Marc Blitzstein Award.

Awards to non-finalists: Brendan Sliger (Hagerstown, MD), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Jeremy Brown (Lincoln, NE), Kaitlyn Davis (Levittown, NY), Katherine McLellan (Plainville, CT), Todd McNeel (Medford, MA), Randa Meierhenry (Indianola, IA), Lucas Pastrana (Milwaukee, WI), Janell Stallard (Portland, TX), and Katherine Weber (New York, NY), Emerging Talent Awards.

18 April 2015, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1982 and before 1 January 1996.

Judges: Rebecca Luker, James Holmes, Theodore S. Chapin.

Winners: Lauren Michelle (Los Angeles), First Prize; Robin Bailey (London, UK) and Jordan Davidson (Philadelphia, NY), Second Prizes; Michael Maliakel (New York) and Adam Fieldson (Lincoln, NE), Third Prizes; Briana Silvie Gantsweg (Brooklyn, NY), Carolyn Weber Award; Florian Peters (Köln, Germany) and Talya Lieberman (Queens, NY), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number ($3,500).

Awards to non-finalists: Lesley Baird (Los Angeles, CA), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Alicia Ault (Mississauga, Ontario), Alaysha Fox (Charlotte, NC), Theo Hoffman (New York), Noel Houle-von Behren (Fort Collins, CO), Arica Jackson (Grand Rapids, MI), Julian Kazenas (Orlando, FL), Jennifer Kennedy (Gorham, ME), Christian Magby (Atlanta, GA), Ben Odom (Vienna, VA), Jameelah Leaundra Robinson (Indianapolis, IN), and Bill Townsend (Princeton, NJ), Emerging Talent Awards.

12 April 2014, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1981 and before 1 January 1995.

Judges: Judy Kaye, Rob Berman, James Robinson.

Winners: Ben Edquist (Houston, TX), First Prize; Arlo Hill (New York, NY), Second Prize; Natalie Ballenger (New York, NY), Third Prize; Robert Ariza (Ann Arbor, MI), Diana Rose Becker (Northport, NY) and Briana Elyse Hunter (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number ($3,500); Katie Travis (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Dramatic Interpretation ($3,500).

Awards to non-finalists: Brian Vu (New Haven, CT), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Neda Lahidji (Santa Clara, CA), Zach Miller (State College, PA), Mary Beth Nelson (Oklahoma City, OK), Laura Corina Saunders (Rochester, NY), Ethan Simpson (Evanston, IL), Christine Cornish Smith (Sunnyside, NY), Anthony Witson-Martini (La Mesa, CA), and Clayton Graves Williams (Rosedale, NY), Emerging Talent Awards.

13 April 2013, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1980 and before 1 January 1994.

Judges: Patricia Racette, James Holmes, Theodore S. Chapin.

Winners: Douglas Carpenter (New York, NY), First Prize; Maren Weinberger (New York, NY), Second Prize; Alison Arnopp (County Cork, Ireland) and Lauren Roesner (Cincinnati, OH), Third Prize; Rachel Kara Cordeiro-Pérez (Brooklyn, NY) and Ginger Costa-Jackson (Sandy, UT), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number ($3,000).

Awards to non-finalists: Charles Z. Owen (Cincinnati, OH), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Cree Carrico (New York, NY), Conor McDonald (Cincinnati, OH), Sofia Selowsky (Cincinnati, OH), Brian Vu (New Haven, CT), Allan Washington (Winston-Salem, NC); and Katie Wesler (Cincinnati, OH), Emerging Talent Awards.

21 April 2012, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1981 and before 1 January 1993.

Judges: Rebecca Luker, Rob Berman, Theodore S. Chapin.

Winners: Matthew Grills (Rochester, NY), First Prize; Justin Hopkins (Philadelphia, PA) and Jacob Keith Watson (Wynne, AR), Second Prize; Megan Marino (Malvern, PA), Third Prize; Natalie Ballenger (Santa Cruz, CA), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number ($3,000); Maria Failla (Brentwood, NY), Lys Symonette Award for Extraordinary Promise as a Singing Actor / Acting Singer ($3,000).

Awards to non-finalists: Kate Tombaugh (Streator, IL), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Robert Ariza (Ann Arbor, MI), Emerging Talent Award.

16 April 2011, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1980 and before 1 January 1992.

Judges: Rebecca Luker, Rob Berman, Michael Kaufmann.

Winners: Caitlin Mathes (Dayville, CT), First Prize of $15,000; Jing Lin (Putian, China), Emma Sewell (London, England), and Jacob Lewis Smith (Albuquerque, NM), three equal prizes of $8,000 each; Daniel Schwait (Baltimore, MD) and John Viscardi (Philadelphia, PA), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number ($2,500 each); Jorell Williams (Brentwood, NY), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Vocal Talent ($2,500).

Awards to non-finalists: Amber Opheim (Columbia, SC), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Natalie Ballenger (Santa Cruz, CA), Samantha Helmstetter (Fairborn, OH), Nathan Lucrezio (Union City, NJ), Kevin Russell Rose (Sarasota, FL), and Cecelia Ticktin (Roosevelt, NJ), Emerging Talent Awards.

17 April 2010, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1977 and before 1 January 1991.

Judges: Timothy Nolen, Lisa Vroman, and Rob Berman.

Winners: Rebekah Camm (Chicago, IL), First Prize; David Arnsperger (Berlin, Germany) and Margaret Gawrysiak (New York, NY), Second Prizes; Cooper Grodin (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Performance of Individual Number; Edward Mout (Chicago, IL), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Vocal Achievement; Kyle Scatliffe (Westwood, NJ) and Timothy J. McDevitt (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Awards for Extraordinary Artistic Promise.

Awards to non-finalists: Julia Teitel (Malden, MA), Grace Keagy Award for Outstanding Vocal Promise; Krista Buccellato (Boston, MA), Margaret Dietrich (Oklahoma City, OK), Lora Lee Gayer (Naples, FL), Blair Goldberg (New York, NY), Joseph Mikolaj (New Haven, CT), Annie J. Rago (Pittsburgh, PA), Adam R. Richardson (New York, NY), and Daniel Schwait (New York, NY), Young Talent Awards.

18 April 2009, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1976 and before 1 January 1990.

Judges: Rob Berman, Theodore S. Chapin, and Teresa Stratas.

Winners: Alen Hodzovic (Berlin, Germany), First Prize; Lauren Worsham (New York, NY), Second Prize; Zachary James (New York, NY), Third Prize; Michael Anthony McGee (New York, NY) and Yannick-Muriel Noah (Toronto, ON), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of Individual Numbers; Ginger Costa-Jackson (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Award for Vocal Promise.

12 April 2008, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1975 and before 1 January 1989.

Judges: Victoria Clark, James Holmes, and Theodore S. Chapin.

Winners: Rebecca Jo Loeb (New York, NY), First Prize; Ariela Morgenstern (Brooklyn, NY), Second Prize; Bray Wilkins (Moscow, ID) and Maija Skille (Helsinki, Finland), Third Prizes; Tora Augestad (Berlin, Germany), Lauren Jelencovich (New York, NY) and Elizabeth Reiter (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of Individual Numbers; John Brancy (Mullica Hill, NJ), Lys Symonette Award for Vocal Promise.

21 April 2007, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1974 and before 1 January 1988.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Ted Sperling, and Theodore S. Chapin.

Winners: James Benjamin Rodgers (New York, NY), First Prize; Analisa Leaming (Rochester, NY), Second Prize; Christopher Herbert (New York, NY) and Leena Chopra (New York, NY), Third Prizes; Paul Corona (Chicago, IL), Jeanine De Bique (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Vocal Talent; Brian Charles Rooney (New York, NY), Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Dramatic Talent.

22 April 2006, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1973 and before 1 January 1987.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Theodore S. Chapin, and James Holmes.

Winners: Justin Welsh (Toronto, ON), First Prize; Justin Lee Miller (New York, NY) and Rodell Aure Rosel (Chicago, IL), Second Prizes; Sarah Blaskowsky (New York, NY) and Hallie Silverston (Rochester, NY), Third Prizes; Karim Sulayman (New York, NY), Meredith Arwady (Chicago, IL), and Bray Wilkins (Port Gibson, MS), Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number.

Four of the five Prize winners were presented in an 18 May concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

9 April 2005, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1972 and before 1 January 1986.

Judges: William Bolcom, Harold Prince, and Angelina Réaux.

Winners: Jonathan Michie (Rochester, NY), First Prize; Liam Bonner (New York, NY) and Erik Liberman (New York, NY), Second Prizes; Morgan James (New York, NY), Third Prize; Jendi Tarde (Chicago, IL), Lys Symonette Special Award for Outstanding Performance of an Individual Number.

Prize winners were presented in an 19 May concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

27 March 2004, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers who were born after 31 December 1971.

Judges: Theodore S. Chapin, Alvin Epstein, and Angelina Réaux.

Winners: Three equal prizes were awarded to Richard Todd Adams, tenor (New York, NY); Amy Justman, soprano (New York, NY); and Misty Ann Sturm, soprano (Lindenhurst, NY).

Prize winners were presented in a 3 June concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

22 March 2003, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers residing in the United States and Canada who were born after 31 December 1970.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Theodore S. Chapin, and Ted Sperling.

Winners: Siri Vik (Cincinnati, OH), First Prize; Peter McGillivray (Toronto, ON), Second Prize; Elaine Alvarez (Brooklyn, NY), Jeffrey Behrens (Pittsburgh, PA), and Michael McKinsey (Brooklyn, NY), Third Prizes.

Four of the five Prize winners were presented in a 15 May concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

13 April 2002, the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, open to singers residing in the United States and Canada who had not yet reached their 32nd birthday as of 31 December 2001.

Judges: Eric Stern, Teresa Stratas, and Stanley Walden.

Winners: Lisa Conlon (Rochester, NY), First Prize; Kyle Barisich (New York, NY) and Ethan Watermeier (Astoria, NY), Second Prizes. Amy Van Looy (Rochester, NY), Nicole Cabell (Chicago, IL), Lucas Meachem (Rochester, NY) received Lys Symonette Awards for Outstanding Vocal Talent.

The First and Second Prize winners were presented in a 13 May concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

17 March 2001, Eastman School of Music, hosted by the University of Rochester for students in the United States or Canada.

Judges: André Bishop, Teresa Stratas, and Welz Kauffman.

Winners: Jennifer Dyan Goode (Manhattan School of Music), First Prize; Raquela Sheeran (The Juilliard School) and Jacob Langfelder (Boston Conservatory), Second Prizes; and Noah Stewart (The Juilliard School) and Misty Ann Castleberry Sturm (Eastman School of Music), Lys Symonette Special Awards.

All winners participated in a concert at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in New York City on 27 November 2001.

16 February 2000, competition for students, Akademie der Künste Berlin, co- sponsored by the Kurt-Weill-Gesellschaft and Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Elmar Ottenthal, and James Holmes.

Winners: First Prizes were awarded to Sophia Brickwell (Leipzig), Lisa Löfquist (Berlin), Juliane Price (Essen), and Susanne Serfling (Berlin); Second Prizes were won by Nicole Johannhanwar (Munich), Rosa Schneider (Potsdam), and Anneka Ulmer (Chemnitz).

17 February 2000, competition for young professional singers, Dessau, co-sponsored by the Kurt-Weill-Gesellschaft and Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Elmar Ottenthal, and James Holmes.

Winners: First Prize was awarded to Annette Postel (Baden-Württemberg); and Second Prizes to Kaja Plessing (Düsseldorf), Kathrin Unger (Berlin), and Cordula Wirkner (Nuremberg).

Winners of both compeitions were presented in a gala concert at Dessau’s Bauhaus on 18 February, following the opening of the 2000 Kurt-Weill-Fest.

3 December 1999, Eastman School of Music, hosted by the University of Rochester for students at schools in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Jonathan Eaton, and John Mauceri.

Winners: Amy Orsulak (Manhattan School of Music), First Prize; Christina Carr (Eastman School of Music) and Dirk Weiler (City College, City University of New York), Second Prizes; and Daniel Spiotta and Amy Van Looy (both Eastman School of Music), Third Prizes. In addition, a Lys Symonette special prize for outstanding accompanist was awarded to Thomas Rosenkranz (also of Eastman).

All winners were asked to participate in a concert at New York City’s 92nd Street Y on 6 February 2000.

12 November 1998, Eastman School of Music, hosted by the University of Rochester for students of the University.

Judges: Teresa Stratas, Julius Rudel, and Mark Cuddy.

Winners: Rachel Albert, Leah Arington, Heidi Bieber, Rebecca Comerford, Katia Escalera, Danielle Frink, Elizabeth McDonald, Brian Mulligan, Lauren Pastorek, Tami Petty, and Teresa Winner.

The competition winners were presented on 14 November in a recital at Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall.