The 2019 Results of the
International Collegiate Singing ChampionshipTM
brought to you by American Vocal Arts.
ICSC emphasizes competitive collegiate singing that spans across borders. We seek to award the best singers from around the world who are currently enrolled in or a recent graduated of an undergraduate or graduate program in voice. There will be a First, Second, and Third Place prize awarded. The winners will be selected based on talent, potential, and overall presentation. All voice types will be judged equally. All performances and adjudication will be done via a simple online process.
2019 International Collegiate Singing Championship Winners
First Place
Carolina López Moreno, Soprano
School: Manhattan School of Music
Teacher: Edith Bers
Carolina López Moreno is a
versatile, award winning soprano known for bringing ‘drama, soft colors and
empathy’ (Stuttgarter Zeitung) to every performance.
Soprano Carolina López
Moreno is the First Grand Prize winner of the Berliner International Music
Competition 2018, and was awarded the Special Prize at the TV production SWR
Young Opera Stars 2018. She is a recipient of the DAAD Scholarship, Richard
Wagner Federation Scholarship of Richard Wagner Federation and the German
Talent Scholarship of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Ms. López
is currently studying under Edith Bers at Manhattan School of Music in her
first-year of her Master's Degree where she made her New York City Debut and starred as
the leading soprano Mariuccia in the production I Due Timidi at the
Neidorff-Karpati Hall.
Other principal roles in
Germany include; Street Scene (Rose Maurrant), Dialogues des Carmelites
(Blanche) and Die Zauberflöte (Pamina). She has performed as a soloist in major
works such as Bizet’s Te Deum and Orff’s Carmina Burana. In addition, she has given
recitals in prestigious concert venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie and
the Jugendstil-Festhalle Landau. Ms. López has recently released her debut
album ‘Il bel sogno’ with ARS-Production Records. Future engagements in NYC
include her Carnegie Hall Debut in April 2019.
Second Place
Johnathan McCullough, Baritone
School: Curtis Institute of Music
Baritone Johnathan
McCullough spends the 2017/18 season as an Emerging Artist at Opera
Philadelphia where he sang Mr. Greatorex in the world premiere of Elizabeth
Cree by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell, as well as Moralès in a new production of
Carmen. At the Komische Oper Berlin, he will return for a new Calixto Bieto
production of Schreker's Die Gezeichneten after his recent successful debut as
Oromasès in a new production of Rameau's Zoroastre conducted by Christian
Curnyn. He will cover the role of Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago and spend the summer of 2018 as a Filene Young Artist at
Wolf Trap Opera singing Brother in The Seven Deadly Sins (Weill) and Marullo in
Rigoletto. In concert, he will sing Carmina Burana with the Boise Philharmonic
and with the National Chorale at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.
He received a Bachelor of
Music degree, Master of Music in Opera degree and Artist Diploma, all from the
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He has been a Young Artist at the
Glimmerglass Festival, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Aspen Music
Festival.
Third Place
Meghan Kasanders, Soprano
School: The Juilliard School
Hailed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “…an important voice, big and opulent,” Meghan Kasanders, is quickly gaining recognition as a promising young dramatic soprano. Ms. Kasanders is a second year Artist Diploma in Opera Studies student at the Juilliard School, where she studies with Edith Wiens. Last season, she was featured as Donna Anna in the Act 1 finale of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in a live-streamed Masterclass with Maestro Yannick Nézet- Séguin from the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Kasanders was also heard on 105.9 WQXR, New York's Classical Music Radio Station in February and spent her summer debuting the role of Magda Sorel in Opera Saratoga’s production of The Consul. This season, Ms. Kasanders will make her Carnegie Hall debut singing Bernstein’s Songfest with Maestra Marin Alsop. Meghan will also make her Alice Tully Hall debut, singing Sibelius’ Luonnatar under the direction of Barbara Hannigan in February. Ms. Kasanders was recently a featured artist in Modern Singer Magazine and has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s Mildred Miller International Voice Competition and has worked with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Saratoga, Union Avenue Opera and the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Originally from the Chicago area, Meghan currently resides in New York City and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Simpson College and a Master’s from Rice University.
Audience Favorite
Laura Sanders, Soprano
School: Eastman School
of Music
Teacher: Katherine Ciesinski
From: California, USA
San Francisco native Laura Corina Sanders is a rising young soprano currently residing in New York City. In April, Laura was one of the top prize winners of the 2018 Lotte Lenya Competition.
She received both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Katherine Ciesinski. While at Eastman, Laura was featured in major roles in several Eastman Opera Theatre productions, including Lucette in Cendrillon, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, and the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. She was the first prize winner of the 2017 Friends of Eastman Opera competition, and the winner of the 2017 Voice Concerto competition, culminating in a rare performance of Hector Berlioz’ cantata Herminie, H. 29 with the Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra.
In the summer of 2018, Laura joined Wolf Trap Opera as a Studio Artist. While at Wolf Trap she performed the title role in Listen, Wilhelmina!, covered the role of Ilia in Idomeneo, and was one of four soloists in The Art of Pleasure, a recital arranged, directed, and played by Steven Blier.
Other roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Oswego Opera and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Berlin Opera Academy. Laura will return to Oswego Opera in October 2018 as Adele in Die Fledermaus.
