The American Prize Schorr Memorial Awards in Vocal Performance

THE AMERICAN PRIZE announces FRIEDRICH & VIRGINIA SCHORR MEMORIAL AWARD
in Vocal Performance. DEADLINE October 26, 2010

Cash prizes, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition will be awarded to the first winners of The American Prize FRIEDRICH & VIRGINIA SCHORR MEMORIAL AWARD in Vocal Performance, a series of new, non-profit performing arts competitions now accepting applications in the form of recorded performances.

The Schorr Award honors the memory Friedrich Schorr, the greatest Wagnerian baritone of his age, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera for nineteen seasons, and his wife, Virginia Schorr, who taught studio voice at the Hartt and Manhattan Schools of Music for nearly fifty years.

Classical vocalists at the professional, college/university, community and secondary school levels are eligible to apply by submitting their recordings. There are separate divisions for opera/operetta and for art song, with few repertoire restrictions and no age limits. The postmark deadline for the first round of The American Prize Schorr Memorial Awards is October 26, 2010. Winners will be announced in March 2011. Complete information, including competition guidelines and application forms, is available on the competition website: www.theamericanprize.org

Founded in 2009, The American Prize grew from the belief that a great deal of excellent music being made in this country goes unrecognized and unheralded, not only in our major cities, but all across the country: in schools and churches, in colleges and universities, and by community and professional musicians. With the performing arts in America now virtually ignored by the national news media, The American Prize seeks to fill the gap that leaves many excellent artists and ensembles struggling for visibility and viability. The American Prize recognizes and reward the best America produces, without bias against small city versus large, or unknown artist versus well-known.

The American Prize was first awarded this past spring, when choruses, orchestras and conductors nationwide were singled out for their excellence. A complete list of winners may be found on the competition website. Additional competitions in piano performance, opera and musical theater production, band/wind ensemble performance and composition are also scheduled. Please see the website.

Application fees for The American Prize are $35 for individuals, far less than the costs associated with traveling to adjudicated music festivals. Financial awards range from $100 to $500 or more, depending on the category and the number of applicants. In addition to cash prizes and commentary from judges, winners will be profiled on The American Prize website, with video and audio links to winning performances.