CCM Alumni Yi Li and Amanda Woodbury Named Grand Finalist Winners of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2014 National Council Auditions

From left to right, CCM alumni Yi Li and Amanda Woodbury.

CCM alumni Yi Li (AD, ’13) and Amanda Woodbury (MM, ’12) have been named Grand Finals Winners of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2014 National Council Auditions.

A tenor, Li is a member of the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

Woodbury, a soprano, is in her second year at the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera.

Li and Woodbury were among nine singers competing in the Met’s prestigious and highly competitive Grand Finals Concert this past Sunday, March 30. The finalists were accompanied by the Met Orchestra led by Marco Armiliato. You can learn more about all of the 2014 National Council Winners here.

This marks the second consecutive year that CCM trained singers have won the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions: bass-baritone Thomas Richards was named a Grand Finals Winner in 2013.

WQXR, New York’s Classical Music Radio Station, will broadcast performances and interviews with all of this year’s winners at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1. Learn more by visiting www.wqxr.org/#!/story/video-webcast-metropolitan-opera-national-council-award-winners.

Learn more courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer here.

Young Singers Take Their First Crack At ‘Winning the Met’ on the CCM Stage on Saturday, Oct. 5

The Metropolitan Opera, New York City.

Hear the opera stars of tomorrow compete for a chance to “win the Met,” and kick-start a major career at the Metropolitan Opera District Council Auditions for the Southern Ohio district on Saturday, Oct. 5. CCM hosts these Southern Ohio Auditions from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. in CCM’s Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. Audiences have the opportunity to attend this event for free and sample operatic selections throughout the day.

Each year, North America’s most promising new opera talent begin their journey to the fabled stage of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in New York during these regional auditions. The Metropolitan Opera holds National Council Auditions throughout the country and Canada in order to discover promising young singers, give singers from around the country a chance to be heard by the major opera companies of the United States and Canada, and find potential participants for the Lindemann Young Artist Development program, an opera training program sponsored by the Met.

CCM Student Named Grand Finalist Winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 National Council Auditions

Artist Diploma student Thomas Richards, bass-baritone.

CCM Artist Diploma candidate Thomas Richards, bass-baritone, has been named a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 National Council Auditions.

A student of CCM Professor of Voice William McGraw, Richards was one of 10 singers competing in the Met’s prestigious and highly competitive Grand Finals Concert this past Sunday, March 10. The finalists were accompanied by the Met Orchestra led by Marco Armiliato. Richards and five other young artists were named the winners of this year’s National Council Auditions.

WQXR, New York’s Classical Music Radio Station, will broadcast performances and interviews with all of this year’s winners at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 11. Visit www.wqxr.org to listen online or watch a live video stream of the performances and interviews.

The Cincinnati Enquirer also published an interview with Richards on the eve of his Grand Finals-winning performance this weekend. You can read that interview online at news.cincinnati.com/article/20130310/ENT07/303100029/CCM-student-finals-Met-contest.

Local audiences can next see Richards in CCM’s Mainstage Series production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, running April 4-7 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

Three CCM Students Progress to Met Opera Regional Auditions in Chicago

Congratulations to the following winners of the Metropolitan Opera District Council Auditions, which were held on Oct. 20 at CCM:

• soprano Chabrelle Denise Williams, student of Barbara Paver at CCM
• tenor Yi Li, student of David Adams at CCM
• bass-baritone Thomas Richards, student of William McGraw at CCM
• baritone Reginald Reggie Smith Jr, student of Everett McCorvey at the University of Kentucky

These singers will progress to the Regional Auditions in Chicago on Nov. 4.

CCM Hosts Met Opera Regional Auditions This Saturday

Hear the opera stars of tomorrow compete for a chance to “win the Met” and kick-start a major operatic career at the Metropolitan Opera District Council Auditions for Southern Ohio. This free event will take place 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, in Robert J. Werner Recital Hall at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Local audiences have the opportunity to sample operatic selections sung by some of Southern Ohio’s most talented young singers throughout the day at this event!

Musical America Names CCM Student as ‘New Artist of the Month’ for March 2012

Artist Diploma candidate Yi Li with Mark Gibson and the CCM Philharmonia.

Congratulations to first-year Artist Diploma candidate Yi Li for being named “New Artist of the Month” by Musical America! Each month, Musical America spotlights an important emerging talent with an in-depth profile. You can view Li’s profile here.

CCM Student Named First Recipient of the Merola Opera Program’s Zheng Cao Opera Fund Award

Congratulations to CCM’s Yi Li, tenor, for being named the inaugural recipient of the Merola Opera Program‘s Zheng Cao Opera Fund award!

Each summer, this fund will sponsor one incoming Merola artist: either an Asian/Pacific artist or a mezzo-soprano. In addition to covering the artist’s training and housing costs, the Zheng Cao Fund will provide the additional funding needed to cover visa and travel costs associated with bringing an Asian/Pacific artist to San Francisco.

CCM Hosts Metropolitan Opera National Council Southern Ohio Regional Auditions on Oct. 22

Hear the stars of tomorrow compete for a chance to “win the Met,” and kick start a major operatic career, at the Metropolitan Opera District Council Auditions for Southern Ohio. This free event is open to the public and will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Robert J. Werner Recital Hall in CCM Village.

CCM Students Advance to Met Opera Central Region Finals in Chicago

Congratulations to two of our own: soprano Xi Wang and mezzo-soprano Audrey Walstrom, both of whom have advanced to the next round in the Metropolitan Opera National Council (MONC) Auditions!

Amongst stiff competition, Wang and Walstrom were singled out by the judges and now move on to the Central Region Finals in Chicago. Also receiving accolades was mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, who was given an encouragement award by the judges.

MONC is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. Many of the world’s foremost singers, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Jessye Norman, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt and Dolora Zajick have received awards from the National Council. Annually, approximately 100 former auditioners appear in Metropolitan Opera productions.