Competition 411

Welcome! The 2024 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition was held in New York City May 20-25. Read about the Grant Award Winners here. We will announce details about the 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition in January 2025. Sign up for our newsletter to receive early notifications about the 2025 Competition. And in the meantime, here are the details of the 2024 Competition.

2024 AWARDS  Grant awards for the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition were:

• First place - $15,000

• Second place - $10,000

• Third place - $7,500

• Munday Encouragement Award - $3,000 and automatic entry into the 2025 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition

• Remaining finalists - $750

2024 ELIGIBILITY To be eligible to compete, singers:

• must not have been a previous first-, second-, or third-place award winner of the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition;

• must have been a permanent legal resident of the United States for at least one year on the first day of the competition, May 20, 2024;

• must have been at least 25 years old by the first day of the competition, May 20, 2024, and no older than 35 years at the competition’s end, May 25, 2024;

• must not have been a past or current recipient of a contract for a principal role with an OPERA America Budget Level I company or its international equivalent. Cover, chorus, and comprimario roles with Level 1 companies are acceptable.

• must have submitted a completed application online by the deadline of Sunday, March 17, 2024.

2024 APPLICATION FEE $25, non-refundable. 

MATERIALS REQUIRED In addition to completing the application on Yaptracker, each applicant must have:

• been a legal resident of the United States. As proof of residency, applicant must submit a copy of a U.S. passport valid through May 25, 2024; a permanent resident (green) card valid through May 25, 2024; or a U.S. birth certificate;

• provided an up-to-date resume showing opera roles and dates of performances;

• provided a high-resolution digital headshot;

• paid a $25 application fee (non-refundable).

APPLICATION PROCESSING Singers applied to compete by submitting an online application via Yaptracker. We asked applicants to prepare five operatic arias: one in Italian, one in French, one in German, one in English, and a fifth in the language of their choice. At least one of the five arias must have been composed after 1980. Here’s a partial list of arias composed since 1980. Oratorio and musical theater selections were not permitted.

PRELIMINARY-ROUND AUDITION SCHEDULING Jensen Foundation staff evaluated all applications, and selected singers were scheduled for Preliminary Round auditions Monday, May 20, 2024 through Thursday, May 25, 2024. All auditions were in-person at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York City. Meet our judges for the Preliminary Rounds. Auditioners could opt to use the Jensen Foundation’s professional accompanist or bring their own.

FINALS COMPETITION The Finals Competition took place in-person from 1 PM to 5 PM on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. The Finals Competition was free and open to the public. Meet our 2024 Finals Judges.

Grant winners were announced at the end of the Finals Competition, and finals judges provide feedback to finalists immediately following the competition. Grant awards were mailed to finalists the week following the competition.