Preliminary jury of the Montreal International Musical Competition, Voice 2015 edition - Photo: courtesy of the MIMCThe Montreal International Musical Competition The Montrealer March 30, 2015 6198 The Montreal International Musical Competition will host 24 classical singers from 9 different countries Ten Canadians, including four Quebecers, are among those officially selected The Montreal International Musical Competition (MIMC) is has announced the names of the candidates who will take part in the 14th edition of the Competition—the sixth dedicated to voice—this coming May 25 to June 5. This year, the Competition received submissions from 123 classical singers of ages 20 to 33, from some thirty countries on five continents. The MIMC was pleased that the Montreal Competition received so many high quality online applications, as well as the many professionals from major international schools who supported the candidates. Over the past few weeks, three selection committees made up of Canadian opera specialists Olivier Godin, Aline Kutan, Chantal Lambert, Rosemarie Landry, Grégoire Legendre, Michael McMahon, and Richard Turp selected the 24 most promising young singers by auditioning their submitted video recordings. Festival management looks forward to welcoming the contestants in the hope that the Competition will serve as a springboard for their careers. At the end of the competition, the winners will be offered various engagements, and will share over $80,000 CAN in prizes, including a $30,000 First Prize. The mission of the Montreal International Musical Competition is to discover and support young singers, violinists and pianists who demonstrate exceptional mastery of their art. The MIMC is the only international competition in North America to be held annually and to present three disciplines in a three-year rotation. Since its first edition dedicated to voice in 2002, more than 2,400 hopefuls have entered the competition and nearly 400 have performed in Montreal, much to the delight of music lovers. The Quarter finals take place at Bourgie Hall May 25-26-27. The semi-final competition also takes place at Bourgie Hall on May 29-30. For tickets, please call the Bourgie Hall Box Office: 514 285-2000, option 4, or online at: www.mbam.qc.ca The Finals take place June 2-3, and The Laureates Concert is on June 5 at Maison Symphonique. For tickets please contact: 514 842-2112 or www.placedesarts.com The 24 competitors—11 women and 13 men, with an average age of 27, from 9 different countries—are: BELGIUM Cathy VAN ROY (soprano) CANADA Owen MCCAUSLAND (tenor) Meghan LINDSAY (soprano) France BELLEMARRE (soprano) Karine BOUCHER (soprano) Claire DE SÉVIGNÉ (soprano) Marianne LAMBERT (soprano) Geoffrey SIRETT (baritone) Suzanne RIGDEN (soprano) Jana MILLER (soprano) CANADA / UNITED KINGDOM Cairan RYAN (baritone) SOUTH KOREA Hwan AN (baritone) Kidon CHOI (baritone) Hyekyung CHOI (soprano) Byeong Min GIL (bass-baritone) Keonwoo KIM (tenor) Seung Jick KIM (tenor) Hye Sang PARK (soprano) Jongsoo YANG (bass) UNITED STATES Eric JURENAS (countertenor) FRANCE Anaïs CONSTANS (soprano) JAPAN Takaoki ONISHI (baritone) MACEDONIA Vasil GARVANLIEV (baritone) TURKEY Dogukan KURAN (baritone) New Prize: The French Art Song Prize Created under the patronage of Clarence and Arija Stiver, the Lied and French Art Song Prize, which will be awarded starting with the 2015 Voice edition, comes with a $5,000 scholarship. Mrs. Stiver, a devoted music lover who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Summer Music Festival, explains: “Our goal is to encourage young singers to discover and perpetuate a repertoire that we don’t seem to hear very often these days, one that offers a very rich and diverse musical literature.” New member on the International Jury After announcing his retirement from opera last April, Ben Heppner regretfully informed the Competition that he would not be able to sit on the MIMC’s international jury this year, as he will be will be making his musical theatre debut around the same time. MIMC wish him every success in the role of Isidor Straus in the production of Titanic that will be presented at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto this spring. The Canadian tenor will be replaced by Korean-born coloratura soprano Sumi Jo. “I am thrilled to sit on the jury of this prestigious competition and look forward to being back in Montreal,” commented Sumi Jo, who was in town for her latest concert on December 1. The jury of the 2015 Voice edition will also include artistic director and conductor David Agler (Canada); conductor Richard Bonynge (Australia); opera administrator and artistic consultant Brian Dickie (United Kingdom); baritone Wolfgang Holzmair (Austria); mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne (United States); bass Joseph Rouleau (Canada); mezzo-soprano Birgitta Svendén (Sweden); and soprano Deborah Voigt (United States). Photo: Preliminary jury of the Montreal International Musical Competition, Voice 2015 edition 1st row: Aline Kutan (soprano, professor at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University), Rosemarie Landry (soprano, professor co-head of the voice program at the Université de Montréal, Faculty of Music), Chantal Lambert (soprano, Director of l’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal 2nd row: Grégoire Legendre (General and Artistic Director of l’Opéra de Québec), Richard Turp (Artistic Director − Concerts Lachine and Director of the Voice program at Le Domaine Forget), Olivier Godin (pianist and vocal coach, Director of the opera workshop of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and vocal coach at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University), Michael McMahon (pianist and vocal coach, professor and vocal coach at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University) Photo: courtesy of the MIMC
