OGSA Logo

The Opera Guild assists local voice students, both undergraduate and graduate, with scholarships, grants, competitive prizes, and opportunities to perform for the community.

Top OGSA Events
(click an event for details)
  • April 28: FREE Member Party
Tucson Opera Calendar
(Click here for full month's events; click a date to see that day's event.)
  • Home
  • FREE Opera Previews
  • Quest for the Best
  • Listen to our Singers
  • Videos about OGSA
  • Read Past Newsletters
  • Photo Gallery
  • About Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Bylaws
    • Our Supporters
  • For Students: Grants, Scholarships, Applications
    • About Grants and Scholarships
    • Grant Application
  • Opera Analyses
  • Contact Us
Join or Renew Now!
Donate
Tucson Web Design by
Nuanced Media logo

Here is the 2021 Student Vocal Showcase

June 6, 2021 by Frank Finkenberg

During this unusual time, the Opera Guild Board of Directors has worked hard, in close cooperation with the Fred Fox School of Music faculty and staff, to continue to aid local students of opera and bring the joys of opera to the community. Although it was not possible to hold our annual festive Quest for the Best! this year, thanks to the generosity of our members and other donors we were still able to award over $8,000 to a great crop of current students. They recorded their arias in a COVID-safe environment at school or in their homes.

As an online audience-judged competition would have faced insurmountable technical and artistic hurdles, prizes for the Showcase are equal in each division—$700 for graduate students and $400 for undergraduates. But just as in Quest, a limited number of singers were nominated, and their choice of aria approved, by their primary voice teacher.

Please visit our website to view (and download) all the  graduate and undergraduate arias. The successful nominees are listed below in alphabetical order, with direct links to their arias.

Graduate Students — $700 Awards

Yue Huang
Yiyan Ji
MyeongJu Kang
Suyoung Lee
Yongjae Lee
Bethany Pehrson
Diana Peralta
Rebeckah Resare

All Graduate Videos

Undergraduates — $400 Awards

Rachel Alvord
Nannette Avendano Rodriguez
Arianna Campbell
Topher Esguerra
Lylah Field
Nadari Hockenhull
Abigail Juganaru
Timothy Simon

All Undergraduate Videos

Filed Under: Listen, News, Quest for the Best, Watch

See and Hear the Arias from 2019’s Quest for the Best!

April 13, 2019 by Frank Finkenberg

Congratulations to all the singers who helped make this year’s Quest for the Best an outstanding success. Thanks to the generosity of donors and attendees we awarded over $8,000 in prizes, with all  singers receiving prize money. The top award winners are noted below; click on their names to go directly to videos of their arias. Or view (and download) all the  graduate and undergraduate arias.

Graduate Singers and Top Awards

2019 Graduate Singers

Left to right: Shainy Manuel, Crystal Kachevas, Erika Burkhart, Frannie Barrows, Chunghee Lee, Diana Peralta, Yuchen Luo, Kristen Lucas. (photo: Howard Weiss)

RankAmountDonorWinner
First (tie)$1250OGSA in honor of Patrick and Patricia SchifanoChunghee Lee
First (tie)$1250OGSA in memory of Stokes TolbertDiana Peralta
Third$750Mary Casady in memory of Richard L CasadyYuchen Luo

All Graduate Videos

Undergraduate Singers and Top Awards

2019 Undergraduates

Left to right: Simon Faddoul, Lylah Field, David Ingram, Bridget Marlowe, Jinzhou Jia, Kelsie Grimsley, Ezra Zurita, Emma Petersen. (Photo: Howard Weiss)

RankAmountDonorWinner
First$800AnonymousEmma Petersen
Second$600Carolyn & Russ RussoEzra Zurita
Third$500Patrick and Patricia SchifanoKelsie Grimsley

All Undergraduate Videos

Filed Under: Listen, News, Quest for the Best, Watch

2019 Quest for the Best Graduate Student Arias

April 12, 2019 by Frank Finkenberg

The Fred Fox School of Music technical staff captured all the arias on video. The top undergraduate student prize winners are:

RankAmountDonorWinner
First (tie)$1250OGSA in honor of Patrick and Patricia SchifanoChunghee Lee
First (tie)$1250OGSA in memory of Stokes TolbertDiana Peralta
Third$750Mary Casady in memory of Richard L CasadyYuchen Luo

To download any aria in a choice of video resolutions,click on its title. This takes you to the Vimeo website; then simply click on the Download button.
Uncompressed audio files are also available upon request to the webmaster.

Go to Undergraduate Arias

First Place ribbon
First Place ribbon
Third Place ribbon

Go to Graduate Arias

Filed Under: Keep Off Homepage, Listen, Quest for the Best, Watch

2019 Quest for the Best Undergraduate Student Arias

April 10, 2019 by Frank Finkenberg

The Fred Fox School of Music technical staff captured all the arias on video. The top undergraduate student prize winners are:

RankAmountDonorWinner
First$800AnonymousEmma Petersen
Second$600Carolyn & Russ RussoEzra Zurita
Third$500Patrick and Patricia SchifanoKelsie Grimsley

To download any aria in a choice of video resolutions,click on its title. This takes you to the Vimeo website; then simply click on the Download button.
Uncompressed audio files are also available upon request to the webmaster.

Go to Graduate Arias

Third Place ribbon
Second Place ribbon
First Place ribbon

Go to Graduate Arias

Filed Under: Keep Off Homepage, Listen, Quest for the Best, Watch

See and Hear the Arias from 2018’s Quest for the Best!

July 3, 2018 by Frank Finkenberg

Congratulations to all the singers who helped make this year’s Quest for the Best an outstanding success. Thanks to the generosity of donors and attendees we awarded $10,600 in prizes, with all  singers receiving prize money. See who won the top awards, and view (or download) all the graduate and undergraduate arias.

Graduate Student Singers
2018 graduates

Left to right: Kristen Lucas, Brian McNiff, Jamey Wright, Mark Hockenberry, Chunghee Lee, Kaitlin Bertenshaw, Shainy Manuel, Octavio Moreno.

Undergraduate Singers
2018 undergraduates

Left to right: Emma Petersen, Annalisse Sauceda Garcia, Stephanie Swift, Powel Brumm, Sara Lashbrook, Frannie Barrows, Athena Beebe, Bridget Marlowe, Brianna Barnhart, Emily Garcia.

Filed Under: Listen, News, Quest for the Best, Watch

Next Page »

Entire contents © 2022 by Opera Guild of Southern Arizona, Inc.

OGSA is a nonprofit corporation qualified under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Dues and contributions are tax-deductible  to the extent permitted by law.

Please Send Email with questions or comments on this site.

  • Home
  • FREE Opera Previews
  • Quest for the Best
  • Listen to our Singers
  • Videos about OGSA
  • Read Past Newsletters
  • Photo Gallery
  • About Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Bylaws
    • Our Supporters
  • For Students: Grants, Scholarships, Applications
    • About Grants and Scholarships
    • Grant Application
  • Opera Analyses
  • Contact Us