Opportunities

The 11th annual JTVA Vocal Competition will provide financial awards, performance opportunities, master classes, networking opportunities, and encouragement to singers who aspire to a professional career in vocal performance. Initial judging of the application videos will be by a panel of judges who will narrow the entries to about 40 semi-finalists in both tiers (April 19, 2024). Applicants will be judged on beauty of tone, musicality, language facility, technical as well as musical skills, diction, dramatic interpretation, and general stage presence. After this first round, a second panel of judges will review the semi-finalists' videos and select 5 finalists in each tier. These singers will be publicly announced on May 17, 2024. All finalists will be invited to the competition master classes and finals on June 22-23, 2024 on the campus of Cal State University East Bay in Hayward CA, near San Francisco. Finalists should plan to arrive in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, June 21, 2024 prior to 6:00 p.m. and depart on Monday, June 24, 2024. While the finalists will be responsible for their own travel to San Francisco, local accommodations for the nights of June 21, 22, and 23 and transportation to and from all JTVA events will be provided. In the afternoon and evening of June 22, there will be separate master classes for each tier. The Tier II master class teacher will be Dr. Robin Fisher, Professor of Music at California State University, Sacramento. The Tier I teacher will be internationally renowned dramatic soprano Lise Lindstrom. The competition finals will be held on June 23, Tier II at 11:00 am and Tier I at 2:00 pm. Each finalist will perform two pieces for a panel of judges and an audience which may include conductors and music directors from Bay Area performing arts organizations.The top three winners in each tier, as well as the Audience Favorite and Bonnie Bell Encouragement Award winners, will be announced and prizes awarded at the conclusion of the competition.

Key Dates (may be subject to change):
Jan 26, 2024 – Start of application acceptance
Mar 8, 2024 – Final deadline for application submission
Apr 19, 2024 – Semi-finalists selected
May 3, 2024 – Finalists selected
May 17, 2024 – Finalists announced publicly
Jun 22, 2024 – Master classes (Tier II 3:30 pm, Tier I 6:00 pm)
Jun 23, 2024 – Competition finals (Tier II 11:00 am, Tier I 2:00 pm)
Compensation
Payment is provided
Cash Awards:

For Tier I: 1st place - $10,000, 2nd place - $6,000, 3rd place (Karen Reiter Award) - $5,000, Audience Favorite (selected by vote at the finals) - $2,000.

For Tier II: 1st place - $4,000, 2nd place - $3,000, 3rd place - $2,500, Audience Favorite - $1,000.

In addition, Bonnie Bell Encouragement Awards of $2,000 each will be awarded to those finalists in each tier who do not win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.
Contact Information
jamestolandvocalarts@gmail.com