Best Performance of a German Lied

Noah Sesling is a 21 year old baritone from Brookline, Massachusetts, currently studying voice performance and arts leadership at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Throughout his time at Eastman he has enjoyed countless opportunities to perform in choral, solo recital, concert, and operatic performance settings. Last year before it was cancelled due to the pandemic, Noah was an ensemble soloist in Eastman Opera Theater’sSweeney Todd.

Best Performance of a Work by a BIPOC Composer

Praised for her great musicianship, Nina Evelyn Anderson always loves taking on a musical challenge. Most recently, she portrayed Célie in Pasatieri’s Signor Deluso with Opera Terps. In December 2019, she debuted as the Soprano Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with University Christrian Church in College Park, Maryland.

Her most recent accomplishments include placing First in NSAL-DC’s Winston Voice Scholarship competition and Third in the George Shirley Vocal Competition, where she showed her voice’s versatility in performing opera, art songs, and spirituals. Some of her past credits include Laurette in Doctor Miracle (Bizet), the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury (Gilbert and Sullivan) with Opera Terps, and Grace Davis in Street Scene with the Maryland Opera Studio.

Anderson received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Maryland studying under the tutelage of Martha Randall. In her free time, she enjoys curling up in a comfy chair with a great book.

Best Contemporary American Song (post 2000)

Lauren Case is a vocalist who is currently a third-year student attending the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester. She is a soprano in the studio of Katherine Ciesinski pursuing a BM in Vocal Performance and a BS in Neuroscience. She recently appeared as a soloist in Eastman Opera Theatre’s production of Our Voices: The Journey Towards Freedom, singing the music of Ben Moore. Lauren has also participated in multiple of Eastman’s choirs. She is active in Eastman’s community, serving as a leader on the Orientation Committee, and as the Treasurer of their Sigma Alpha Iota chapter. 

Best Overall Performance

Julia Holoman (mezzo-soprano) is a sophomore from Raleigh, North Carolina. Julia has studied classical voice privately for 6 years; 3 years under Kimberley Bentley. In 2018, Julia placed first in her room at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) State and Regional Conferences. Julia went on to place second among all-female high school classical singers at the National level of the NATS Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV. Julia has performed with multiple ensembles chosen by audition including being a member and soloist for the NC Governors School West Choir in the summer of 2017, being a member of the NC Music Educators Association’s (NCMEA) High School Honors Chorus for all four years of high school (2015-2018), soloing at the NCMEA Annual Conference in November of 2017, and being a member of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) All-National Honors Chorus in Grapevine, TX, in 2016. She is looking forward to performing opera roles of Aminta in Mozart’s Il Re Pastore and L’enfant in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges this year under the direction of Dr. Marc Callahan and will be studying in Dr. Jeanne Fischer’s voice studio.

Best Performance of a French Mélodie

Jillian Tate is a senior vocal performance major and arts leadership minor at the University of Maryland, College Park. This year she has been busy planning for her senior recital, as well as beginning her grad school search in preparation for applications in the Fall of 2021. In 2019, she was a soloist in the Reach Opening Festival at the Kennedy Center, and performed the role of Célie in Signor Deluso with the undergraduate opera company Opera Terps. Before Covid-19, Jillian was scheduled to perform the role of Grasshopper in Cunning Little Vixen with the Maryland Opera Studio. This summer she participated in Miami Music Festival’s online intensive vocal program where she filmed herself in various operatic scenes and arias, including a zarzuela, and sang in a masterclass with composer, Jake Heggie. Jillian is a student of mezzo soprano Delores Ziegler.

Sophie Carpenter is a lyric soprano from San Francisco, California. Her experience spans across styles such as opera, musical theater, recital, and sacred music. Currently, she is a member of the Boston Opera Collaborative Artist in Training Program for the 2021-2022 season. Ms.Carpenter’s recent appearances include: June Jenkins (An Embarrassing Position) at Longy School of Music; Caroline Norton (Angels of the House) a premiere opera, Cornelia (Giulio Cesare in Egitto by Sartorio), Audrey (Little Shop of Horrors), and Armida (Rinaldo) at Carnegie Mellon University. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Voice from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice from Longy School of Music of Bard.

Thomas Warden is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and is currently attaining their master’s degree in Vocal Studies from Longy School of Music. Thomas is looking forward to the La Voce Totale Concert and his role as Squire in The Silver Fox at Longy School of Music. Thomas has had the opportunity to perform roles such as Top from The Tenderland, by Aaron Copland, Mr. Ford from The Merry Wives of Windsor, by Otto Nicolai. In 2021 Thomas had the honour of playing Aeneas in Dido & Aeneas, by Henry Purcell, a production that won first place in the National Opera Association (NOA) Opera Production Competition. Other credits would include Thomas’ covering of Melisso in Handel’s Alcina and selected scenes from Il barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro as Figaro. Thomas was a finalist in 2021 as a finalist for the Allan & Sally Brudos prize for Opera Performance at Luther College.

Thomas is an active musician and voice teacher to students the Boston area, teaching classical and musical theatre techniques. Currently Thomas is an active chorister and soloist at Trinity Parish of Newton Centre. Thomas’ current teacher is Dr. Corrine Byrne and coach is Dean Emeritus Wayman Chin at Longy School of Music and was under the previous instruction of Prof. Carla Thelen-Hanson and Dr. Nicholas Shaneyfelt at Luther College.