Marcella Sembrich Memorial Voice Scholarship Competition

MEZZO-SOPRANO MAGDALENA WOR WINS

2010 KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION SEMBRICH COMPETITION

 

Magdalena Wor, mezzo-soprano, won First Prize in the 2010 Sembrich Voice Scholarship Competition organized by the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City.  A native of Ostrowiec, Poland, the 29-year old Ms. Wor studied at Georgia State University and now resides in Duluth, Georgia. She has appeared throughout the United States and won numerous competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Finals in New York. She sings the role of Carmen with Palm Beach Opera in April, and has performed with opera companies in Washington, St. Louis, and her native Poland. Ms. Wor received a $3,000 cash scholarship prize
Second Prize was won by Samantha Guevrekian, of Long Beach, NY. The 24-year old soprano  has studied at Northwestern and Stony Brook Universities, and appeared with Bronx Opera. Ms. Guevrekian received a cash scholarship prize of $1,500. A Third Prize cash scholarship of $1000  was awarded to tenor Matthew Pena, a 27-year old graduate of Oberlin College and the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Pena, who resides in New York, is performing with Anchorage Opera, Virginia Opera, and the American Classical Orchestra.
 
The judges also presented a special prize in memory of Stephen Herx to soprano Erika Buchholz. Mr. Herx was working on an authoritative biography of Marcella Sembrich when he passed away last year. He had worked with music and education programs for youth.
 
The winners will be invited to the Seventh International Moniuszko Vocal Competition, to be held in Warsaw in May.
 
 Prizes were generously provided by the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, which also maintains the Sembrich Museum in Bolton Landing, New York (www.operamuseum.org) ; and Ms. Ann Coxe Zagoreos, herself a singer and for many years associated with the Sembrich Museum and with support for the arts.
Jurors included Alfred Hubay, a long-time manager and administrator at the Metropolitan Opera, who also judges for the George London Foundation;  Nedda Casei, of the Metropolitan Opera; and pianist Giovanni Favretti.Contestants were required to prepare a representative repertoire including songs and arias, selections by Moniuszko and contemporary American and Polish works. Auditions were held at Hunter College on Saturday, March 6.

 The Competition honors Marcella Sembrich, the great Polish soprano who won an international reputation and established the voice faculties at both the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute. Sembrich was not only a great artist but also a deeply loved teacher. Previous Competition winners include Barbara Hendricks and Jan Opalach.

 

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