CCM Opera Student Takes First Place in Houston Grand Opera Young Singers Competition

Baritone Mark Diamond, a first year Master of Music student at CCM, recently took first place in the Houston Grand Opera‘s 23rd Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers.

Guest judge Frederica von Stade joined HGO General Director Anthony Freud and HGO Music Director Patrick Summers in selecting the winners of the competition following their performances in the Concert of Arias.

Diamond’s winning performance included “Hai già vinta la causa” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen” from Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, with accompaniment by Francis Greep.

This year, the Eleanor McCollum Competition received more than 700 applications from young singers from around the world. This group was eventually narrowed down to eight finalists, which also included bass-baritone Noel Bouley, a CCM Artist Diploma student.

You can learn more about the competition here.