Independent Arts News Reporting Youth Talent Triumphs: Hammerstein Museum Announces Contest Winners!
Pictured Above: Elementary School Division First Place Winner: Stewart Davis, Age 11, Reno, NV. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Newsroom Post: DOYLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
Doylestown, PA –Winners for the nonprofit Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center’s (OHMTEC) International Youth Solo Contest were announced in a pre-recorded awards ceremony broadcast recently. The second annual contest attracted 100 applicants from near and far, including representation from three continents. International participants were from Ireland and South Africa. Seventeen U.S. states were represented among this year’s competitors.
Pictured Above: Bucks County Division Third Place Winner: Felix Arnstein, Age 16, Point Pleasant, PA. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Director of the contest and OHMTEC vice president, Jaime Rogers said, “Year after year I am astounded at the level of musicianship and poise that these young singers bring to their performances. In the second round of competition, singers are asked to create a short introduction video telling us what they learned about Oscar Hammerstein II during this process and/or why they feel it is important to save historical properties like Highland Farm. Their answers are so insightful and inspiring. It provides that confirmation and validation that what we are doing here with our non-profit is good work and will be both valuable and appreciated by generations to come.”
The contest serves the very important job of educating young musical theatre enthusiasts about the tremendous influence Oscar Hammerstein II had on the development of the modern Broadway musical as we know it. The contest also raises international awareness of the nonprofit’s mission to save Oscar Hammerstein’s Doylestown home and open the home to the public as a museum. Plans include building a theatre education center on the site of the existing bank barn.
Pictured Above: High School Division First Place Winner: Bridget Sindelar, Age 18, Glenn Allen, VA. Photo Credit: Contributed.
A complete list of winners is below. Soloist videos can be seen on Facebook @hammersteinmuseum.
College Division
First Place: Nicole Duffy, Williamstown, NJ
High School Division
Middle School Division
Elementary School Division
Bucks County Division
This year’s winners will receive a cash prize and are invited to perform during a Hammerstein sing-along event in September. They will also receive a voice lesson with Broadway performer and OHMTEC Honorary Advisory Board member Justin Guarini. A prestigious panel of judges evaluated the final round of solo submissions, including vocal coach Bob Marks, owner of Carson-Adler Agency, Nancy Carson, Associate Dean and Professor of Voice at Ithaca College, Ivy Waltz, and Dan Callaway, Assistant Professor of Voice at Boston Conservatory.
Proceeds from the contest benefit The Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center, which is engaged in a fundraising campaign to support the nonprofit’s ongoing vision to secure Highland Farm, Oscar Hammerstein II’s former home and workplace, and realize the dream of a museum and theatre education center on the site in the heart of Doylestown, PA. OHMTEC is now closer-than-ever to having the funds available to finally purchase Highland Farm. Due to a very generous challenge grant from the nonprofit’s executive board, OHMTEC is just under $400,000 from having the funds available to finally purchase Highland Farm and begin the next exciting steps of updating the home for museum space. For more information and to learn how you can make an impact and #SaveOscarsHome please visit www.HammersteinMuseum.org.
