Most of the 2018 Singer of the Year competitors (LEFT TO RIGHT) Emily Gehman, Kassidy King, Anna Bonjour, Genevieve Sullivan, and Ivy Taylor
By Nicole Towne, SMTD Publicity Intern
There is strong sense of warmth and ease as winners from the annual Singer of the Year Competition gather in a small office at the University Center for the Arts. Each of these women is being recognized and rewarded for her hard work, but they also each get to take part in a community that has remained strong, despite some friendly competition.
The finals took place Feb. 24 and awarded eight students with recognition and scholarship funds. Sophomore music therapy major Ivy Taylor was named singer of the year. Genevieve Sullivan and Anna Bonjour received awards for most improved. Emily Gehman, Kassidy King, Angela Lamar, Alexandra Young, and Ashley Eckroth also received awards for their performances.
Singer of the Year offers students the opportunity to showcase their unique voices and capabilities for a panel of guest judges and compete for awards totaling in over $50,000. Each finalist performs two contrasting pieces showing their different capabilities in front of the judges and audience.
“I think what really surprises me about Singer of the Year is that everyone’s voice is so unique,” Gehman said.
Taylor, this year’s winner, performed “Elegia Eterna” by Spanish composer and pianist Enrique Granados and “If I loved You,” from the musical Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein. She worked alongside her voice professor John Seesholts to prepare for the competition. One of her challenges was working through a difficult passage at the end of “Elegia Eterna.”
“It was really challenging to get that to sound good and to sound okay coming out of my body,” Taylor said. “When I finally got it and was able to sing it, it was very rewarding.”
Taylor is only in her second year at CSU, but she has already seen a great deal of growth in terms of vocals, knowledge of her major, and personal development. She has also gained knowledge and support from her peers.
2018 Singer of the Year winner, Ivy Taylor
“The people around me have taught me compassion. and understanding,” Taylor said. “Treat everyone with kindness and be proud of everyone for all the work they have done.”
Anna Bonjour was one this year’s most improved award recipients and appreciates how the competition values individual growth.
“It’s cool to be rewarded for progressing in your journey, regardless of how that stacks up to everyone one else in the program,” Bonjour said. “It’s really not about that.”
For third place performer, Kassidy King, the competition was special due to strong individual performances singers but also due to the comradery among the contestants.
“That was honestly one of the best nights of my life,” King said. “Everyone did so amazing and everyone was supportive of each other. It was very rewarding. Our hard work paid off.”
The annual competition occurs each spring and showcases some of the finest talent within the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at CSU. If you missed this year’s show, keep an eye out for information in Jan. 2019 as this event is one that classical vocal enthusiasts do not want to miss!