The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Fourth annual Handel Aria Competition announces the 2016 finalists who will sing for prizes next FRIDAY (NOT Thursday) night

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement:

The Handel Aria Competition is pleased to announce the finalists for this year’s fourth annual event.

The final round of the region, national and international competition is presented as a public concert in conjunction with the Madison Early Music Festival in Madison, Wisconsin.

It will take place on next FRIDAY night July 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Concert Hall at the UW-Madison School of Music, 455 North Park Street. (An earlier version mistakenly said Thursday night. The correct date is FRIDAY night, July 8. The Ear apologizes for the error.)

Tickets are $10, general admission, and are available in advance, through Orange Tree Imports, in person at 1721 Monroe St., Madison, WI, and by phone: (608) 255-8211; or at the door They are now available online through UW Arts on Campus (use the link below) and at the Memorial Union Box Office.

https://itkt.choicecrm.net/templates/UWIM/index.php?&event_ids=3974

Seven finalists and two alternates were chosen from a field of almost 100 singers from around the world.

The finalists are:

• Adele Grabowski, mezzo-soprano, of New Haven, Connecticut
• Fiona Gillespie Jackson, soprano, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
• Eric Jurenas, countertenor, of New York, New York
• Christina Kay, soprano, of Madison, Wisconsin
• Nola Richardson, soprano, of Sydney, Australia
• Elena Snow, mezzo-soprano, of Chicago, Illinois
• Pascale Brigitte Boilard, soprano, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Each singer will present two arias from an opera or cantata by George Frideric Handel, accompanied by the Madison Bach Musicians (below, at the 2015 competition) under the direction of Trevor Stephenson.

Three professional judges will select a first, second and third prize winner, and all those in attendance will be invited to vote for the recipient of the “audience favorite” prize.

For more information about the competition, visit:

https://handelariacompetition.com

Below are the 2016 Handel Aria Competition Finalists – from upper left, clockwise: Fiona Gillespie Jackson; Christina Kay; Nola Richardson; Elena Snow; Pascale Brigitte Boilard; Adele Grabowski; and Eric Jurenas.