THE 2020 HAL LEONARD VOCAL COMPETITION WINNERS

Hal Leonard, the world's largest print music publisher and the world leader in vocal music, launched the exciting and innovative concept of a serious music competition for voice students comprised entirely of YouTube video entries. We believe this to be the first legitimate music competition for musicians of various ages, children through college, to be held entirely on the Internet.

The required repertoire was largely drawn from art song and musical theatre literature. The deadline for entry was February 2, 2020.

Judging has been concluded, and we are pleased to announce the art song and musical theatre results in the four age categories of competition. Congratulations to the prize winners! We were encouraged by the commitment and seriousness of purpose shown in the video entries. If these are a representative sampling, there are clearly many dedicated students and teachers at all levels who have embraced our heritage of music literature. We thank all those who entered for confirming that this experimental venture was more than worthwhile. And we also thank the teachers and parents who guided the voice students in this competition. Thank you also to all the accompanists for their key participation.

View the Winning Videos

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY VOICES, ART SONG - Undergraduates (AGES 18-23)

First Place

Merissa Beddows

School: Curtis Institute of Music
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Pianist: Reese Revak
Voice Teacher: Julia Faulkner

Second Place

Marieke de Koker

School: DePaul University
Location: Chicago, IL
Pianist: Lillia Woolschlager
Voice Teacher: Jeffrey Ray

Third Place (tie)

Aaron Crouch

School: Curtis Institute of Music
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Pianist: Anton Mejias
Voice Teacher: Kevin Short

Third Place (tie)

Margaret Ann Zentner

School: University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Pianist: Angela Ward
Voice Teacher: Marilyn Taylor

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)

Sophia Daisy Chesler

School: New England Conservatory of Music
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Dirk Holzman

School: University of Maryland
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Sophie Naubert

School: Conservatoire de musique de Montréal
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Alexis Seminario

School: Manhattan School of Music
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HIGH SCHOOL VOICES, ART SONG - AGES 16-18

First Place

Caitlin Chisham

School: Derby High School
Location: Derby, KS
Pianist: Abby Kamunge
Voice Teacher: Cristina Castaldi

Second Place (tie)

Rachel Schlesinger

School: North Shore Hebrew Academy
Location: Roslyn Heights, NY
Pianist: Youn Ju Namkoong
Voice Teacher: Jennifer Grimaldi

Second Place (tie)

Leland Smith

School: Amador Valley High Schooll
Location: Pleasonton, CA
Pianist: Jeff Smith
Voice Teacher: Jimmy Kansau

Third Place (tie)

Lexi Lanni

School: La Salle Academy
Location: Bristol, RH
Pianist: Michelle Beaton
Voice Teacher: Elizabeth Heath

Third Place (tie)

Ella Rescigno

School: Spring Valley High School
Location: Columbia, SC
Pianist: Luke Fang
Voice Teacher: Rachel Calloway

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)

Bradley Boatright

Location: Smithville, TX
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Emily Mulva

Location: Austin, TX
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Alasdair Payten

Location: San Francisco, CA
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Brendan Reeves

Location: Aliso Viejo, CA
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Emily Wrede

Location: Lexington, KY
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Emmanuel Yogue

Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Anna Zavelson

Location: Austin, TX
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EARLY TEEN VOICES, ART SONG - AGES 13-15

First Place

Janice Chong

Location: Saratoga, CA
Voice Teacher: Liya Fang

Second Place (tie)

Aliyah Douglas

Location: Oro Valley, AZ
Voice Teacher: Stephanie Fox

Second Place (tie)

Isabel Hernandez

Location: Winnetka, IL
Voice Teacher: Dorothy Lloyd

Third Place (tie)

Karly Chan

Location: Great Neck, NY
Voice Teacher: Jeanai La Vita

Third Place (tie)

Ari Tujian

Location: La Canada, CA
Voice Teacher: Jeffrey Kim

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)

Benjamin Barham-Wiese

Location: New York, NY
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Saman de Silva

Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
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Tiffany Ho

Location: Santa Clara, CA
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Amelia Knight

Location: Chandler, AZ
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CHILDREN'S VOICES, ART SONG - AGES 12 AND UNDER

First Place

Katherine Ryan

Location: Pearl River, NY
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo

Second Place (tie)

Kendall Sorenson

Location: Armonk, NY
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova, Glenn Gordon

Second Place (tie)

Lily Yezdanian

Location: Clifton, NJ
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova

Third Place (tie)

Baylee Horvath

Location: Gilbert, AZ
Voice Teacher: Nicole Jensen

Third Place (tie)

Avery Nokes

Location: Arlington, VA
Voice Teacher: Tricia Grey

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)

Charlotte Dugan

Location: Derry, NH
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Kylee Hope Geraci

Location: Alexandria, VA
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Logan Hoyt

Location: Arlington, TX
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Bella Leybovich

Location: Chandler, AZ
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Sindhu Vemulapalli

Location: Folsom, CA
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Gloria Wang

Location: Johns Creek, GA
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YOUNG ADULT VOICES, MUSICAL THEATRE - Undergraduates (AGES 18-23)

First Place

Angel Tolbert

Location: Belton, TX

Second Place (tie)

Ashlyn Combs

Location: Rock Hill, SC

Second Place (tie)

Chloe Hayes

Location: Decatur, IL
Pianist: Ron Maurey

Third Place

Shavon Lloyd

Location: Potsdam, NY
Pianist: Jeffrey Francom

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)

Claire Abramson

Location: Pflugerville, TX
Pianist: Carlos Quesada
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Dirk Holzman

Location: College Park, MD
Pianist: Andrew Welch
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Chris McCloskey

Location: Belton, TX
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Anthony Procopio

Location: Tempe, AZ
Pianist: Masaru Sakuma
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