Vocal

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

Complete List of Winners

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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