THE 2023 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, 2023.
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.
We began the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition in 2011, and since then thousands of singers have entered, and we thank them for it. So many teachers have been longtime devotees to the competition. Unfortunately, due to a combination of circumstances, 2023 will be the final year of the competition. As founder of the competition and head of the judging panel, I am retiring after 39 years at Hal Leonard. We thank you for your loyalty and for all the amazing singers you've shared with us over the years.
Best wishes to all in your future singing!
- Richard Walters
View the Winning Videos
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY VOICES, ART SONG - Undergraduates (AGES 18-23)
First Place
Sarah Fleiss
School: Curtis Institute of Music
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Pianist: Ting Ting Wong
Voice Teacher: Julia Faulkner
Second Place
Lily Bogas
School: Eastman School of Music
Location: Rochester, NY
Pianist: Jenny Choo Kirby
Voice Teacher: Amy Johnson
Third Place
Emily Damasco
School: Curtis Institute of Music
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Pianist: Jenny Choo Kirby
Voice Teacher: Robert Swensen
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Even Johnson
School: Chapman University
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Madeleine Keane
School: Manhattan School of Music
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Clara Reeves
School: Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
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HIGH SCHOOL VOICES, ART SONG - AGES 16-18
First Place
Maximus Taylor
School: Dupont Manual High School
Location: Louisville, KY
Pianist: Bruce Boiney
Voice Teacher: Garrett Sorenson, Elizabeth Batton Sorenson
Second Place (tie)
Erin Chung
School: Archbishop Mitty High School
Location: Saratoga, CA
Pianist: Sophia Min
Voice Teacher: Cristina Park
Second Place (tie)
Olivia Gonzales
School: Kinder High School for the Performing Arts
Location: Houston, TX
Voice Teacher: Alicia Gianni
Third Place (tie)
Alicia Chu
School: Juilliard Pre-College
Location: Newark, DE
Pianist: Matthew Jewel
Voice Teacher: Lorrain Nubar
Third Place (tie)
SangHoon Jung
School: Bergen County Academies
Location: Fort Lee, NJ
Pianist: Hanghyun Lee
Voice Teachers: Ronald Cappon, Yohan Yi
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
David “Trey” Logeman
Location: Kings Mountain, NC
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Naysa Marrero
Location: Miami, FL
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Gabriel Wang
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Briggs Williamson
Location: Delaplane, VA
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EARLY TEEN VOICES, ART SONG - AGES 13-15
First Place
Katherine Ryan
School: Immaculate Heart Academy
Location: Pearl River, NY
Pianist: Glenn Gordon
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo
Second Place (tie)
William Lovell
School: ASU Prep Digital
Location: Mesa, AZ
Pianist: Hope Douglas
Voice Teacher: Nichole Jensen
Second Place (tie)
Alana Merritt
School: St. Joseph Academy
Location: Escondido, CA
Pianist: Yvette Itano
Voice Teacher: Jonathan Beyer
Third Place (tie)
Sofiia Dorozhkina
School: Sacramento Academy of Musical Arts
Location: Sacramento, CA
Voice Teacher: Alina Ilchuk
Third Place (tie)
Lukas Palys
School: St. Mark’s School of Texas
Location: Dallas, TX
Pianist: Szu-Ying Huang
Voice Teacher: Alexander Rom
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Katherine Berdovskiy
Location: Davis, CA
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Maeve Cunningham
Location: Ridgewood, NJ
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Aurora Dainer
Location: Bethesda, MD
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Akshi Malhotra
Location: San Jose, CA
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Niko Rinaldi
Location: Stamford, CT
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Lily Yezdanian
Location: Clifton, NJ
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CHILDREN'S VOICES, ART SONG - AGES 12 AND UNDER
First Place
Donna Megules
School: Haines 6th Grade Center
Location: Medford, NJ
Voice Teacher: Kristine Biller
Second Place (tie)
Chloe Kesner
School: Homeschool
Location: Mesa, AZ
Voice Teachers: Allison Houston
Second Place (tie)
Hailey Rivera
School: Christ the Teacher Academy
Location: Cliffside Park, NJ
Pianist: Liliana Sotirova
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova
Third Place (tie)
Kailey Sunwoo
School: Demarest Middle School
Location: Demarest, NJ
Pianist: Haekyoung Lee
Voice Teacher: HyeYoung Kang
Third Place (tie)
Janelle Wu
School: Perimeter School
Location: Johns Creek, GA
Voice Teacher: Xianyu Cui
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Ashley Hua
Location: Marietta, GA
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Juliet Lee
Location: Vienna, VA
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Brooks Liang
Location: Campbell, CA
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Josephine Martin
Location: New York, NY
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Lily Bell Morgan
Location: Portsmouth, VA
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Emma Tang
Location: Duluth, GA
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YOUNG ADULT VOICES, MUSICAL THEATRE - Undergraduates (AGES 18-23)
First Place
Anna Zavelson
School: University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Pianist: Casey Baker
Voice Teacher: Elizabeth Gray
Second Place (tie)
Vera Brown
School: Webster University
Location: Memphis, TN
Pianist: Zach Nuemar
Voice Teacher: Jeffrey Carter
Second Place (tie)
Ashlyn Combs
School: Winthrop University
Location: New York, NY
Third Place (tie)
Diego Bly
School: Christopher Newport University
Location: Providence Forge, VA
Pianist: Suzanne Daniels
Voice Teacher: Colin Ruffer
Third Place (tie)
Alex Daspit
School: Webster University
Location: McFarland, WI
Pianist: Jeffrey Carter
Voice Teacher: Jeffrey Carter
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Meg Booker
School: Northern Kentucky University
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Curran Bramhall
School: University of South Carolina
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Grace Caccavari
School: Xavier University
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Owen Clark
School: Xavier University
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HIGH SCHOOL VOICES, MUSICAL THEATRE - AGES 16-18
First Place
Lauren Huserik
School: Kentridge High School
Location: Renton, WA
Pianist: Deborah Mackey
Voice Teacher: Darcy Fulkerson
Second Place (tie)
Lindsay Alexander
School: Stephen F. Austin High School
Location: Austin, TX
Pianist: Austin Haller
Voice Teacher: Shaunna Shandro
Second Place (tie)
Alexander Kim
School: St. Margaret's Episcopal School
Location: Laguna Niguel, CA
Pianist: Lex Leigh
Voice Teacher: Denise Milner Howell
Third Place (tie)
Kaiya Bagley
School: St. Mary’s School
Location: Medford, OR
Pianist: Dr. Eunae Ho
Voice Teacher: Andrea Hochkeppel
Third Place (tie)
Zoey Blackman
School: Melissa Daniels Vocal Studio
Location: Voorhees, NJ
Pianist: Melissa Daniels McCann
Voice Teacher: Melissa Daniels McCann
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Chelsea Bohn-Pozniak
Location: Cinnamonson, NJ
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Kathryn Dooley
Location: Austin, TX
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Ciela Elliott
Location: Chappaqua, NY
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Aurna Mukherjee
Location: Austin, TX
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Claire Shirley
Location: Greenville, SC
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EARLY TEEN VOICES, MUSICAL THEATRE - AGES 13-15
First Place
Lily Yezdanian
School: Lacordaire
Location: Clifton, NJ
Pianist: Glenn Gordon, Liliana Sotirova
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova
Second Place (tie)
Nicole Blanco
School: Episcopal High School
Location: Houston, TX
Voice Teacher: Laura Ballard
Second Place (tie)
Vince Ermita
School: David E. Owens Middle School
Location: New Milford, NJ
Pianist: Glenn Gordon
Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo
Third Place (tie)
Eve Antonelli
School: Bergen County Academies
Location: Oradell, NJ
Voice Teacher: Lori Fredrics
Third Place (tie)
Edward Turner
School: Bergen County Academies
Location: Oradell, NJ
Voice Teacher: Terri Grosso
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Marina Chamedes
Location: New York, NY
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Diya Koul
Location: Lexington, MA
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Katherine Ryan
Location: Pearl River, NY
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CHILDREN'S VOICES, MUSICAL THEATRE - AGES 12 AND UNDER
First Place
Vinya Chhabra
School: Churchill Junior High School
Location: East Brunswick, NJ
Pianist: Glenn Gordon
Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Glenn Gordon and Liliana Sotirova
Second Place (tie)
Evelyn Billingsley
School: Cascade Christian School
Location: Jacksonville, OR
Voice Teacher: Andrea Hochkeppel
Second Place (tie)
Sienna Stoll
School: St. Francis Xavier School
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Voice Teachers: Renee Koher
Third Place (tie)
Kylie Kuioka
School: Bridgeway Academy (homeschool)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Third Place (tie)
Cayden Tan
School: Horace Mann School
Location: New York, NY
Pianist: Sun Young Chang
Voice Teachers: Sun Young Chang
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically)
Chance Challen
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Lincoln Cohen
Location: New York, NY
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Kai Edgar
Location: Saint Charles, IL
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Everleigh Murphy
Location: Rockford, MI
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Shreya Philips
Location: Austin, TX
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Dyuti Venkatakrishna
Location: Parsippany, NJ
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