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April 14, 2004
ANNOUNCEMENT MADE NAMING WINNERS OF 2004 ARIA AWARDS IN PROGRAM’S TENTH YEAR; ANNA CHRISTY, BRANDON JOVANOVICH, AND ERIN WALL EACH TO RECEIVE $15,000
The Chairman of ARIA’s Board of Directors, Mrs. Douglas D. Thomas, enthusiastically exclaimed today, “It is very exciting for us to announce the tenth trio of ARIA winners. These three talented young singers have shown great promise in their careers and we are proud to add their names to the group of outstanding recipients from past years.”
As the ARIA Awards celebrate a decade of recognizing gifted American opera singers, three new artists have been added to the “family.” Soprano Anna Christy, tenor Brandon Jovanovich and soprano Erin Wall join an illustrious group of prior awardees. Mrs. Thomas further went on to say, “The acronym ARIA represents ‘Awards Recognizing Individual Artistry’ and each of these winners embodies this ideal.”
An eminent Jury, whose unparalleled breadth of knowledge about emerging young artists, met recently in New York. They evaluated seventeen Finalists, assessing them by a multitude of criteria, among them: past performances, the vocal and dramatic gifts of each singer and their capacity for a major operatic career.
In its first decade, the ARIA Awards are already recognized, here and abroad, as among the most distinguished vocal prizes. Singers do not audition and are completely unaware that they are being considered. The Foundation prides itself on the vast reservoir of professionals it regularly calls upon to bring candidates to its attention. These company heads, artistic administrators, conductors, composers, stage directors, critics, renowned singers, our own past winners and other notable members of the music community bring a diversity and wide-reaching scope of knowledge to the entire process.
Since the Program’s
inception ten years ago, $450,000 has been conferred on an outstanding
array of operatic artists who are equally divided between women and men.
The vocal categories break down as follows: 9 sopranos; 6 mezzo-sopranos;
1 male soprano; 1 counter-tenor; 7 tenors; 3 baritones; 1 bass-baritone;
and 2 basses.
In summing up the past decade’s accomplishments, ARIA Program Director
Karen Kriendler Nelson stated, “Opera is one of the most demanding
of the performing arts and we feel confident that its future is assured.
Many of our thirty outstanding ARIA winners are already at the forefront
of the profession. Their manifold achievements bring them engagements
and recognition, and ensure them a very bright future, indeed. We look
forward to following their careers as they go from strength to strength,
as we will with those other American singers who will join their ranks
as ARIA alumni in the future.”
For further information, please access the ARIA website at:
Source:
ARIA
