Young Artists Competition

Vocal Arts DC presents classical voice recitals in various venues in the greater Washington area to broaden public appreciation of this art form and to provide professional opportunities for young, local singers.

Each year, Vocal Arts DC holds a vocal competition open to all singers who are residents of the greater DC area, including Baltimore and Annapolis. Singers are asked to submit a CD for review along with a sample program that the singer is prepared to sing in recital. The CDs will be reviewed in a blind audition. From there, finalists will be selected for a live audition.

The artists chosen in competition for performance in concerts during the spring of 2013 are Soprano Heather Bingham and Baritone Jeffrey Grayson Gates. They will be accompanied by pianist R. Timothy McReynolds. See Art Song Discovery Series > for more information.

Finalists will be notified in mid-April, and final auditions will be held on the Foggy Bottom campus of George Washington University on Saturday, May 11, between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Singers interested in entering the competition should download
the Audition Form.  >

Above: Finalists in a previous competition

This Years Winners

Possessing "a voice of fragrant delicacy" (The Washington Post), emerging soprano, Heather Bingham, has appeared on stages throughout the United States and Europe, performing gospel, jazz, opera and oratorio. Ms. Bingham's most recent works include the roles of Alcina in Handel's Alcina, Giulietta in Bellini's i Capuleti e i Montecchi, Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Giannetta in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Susanna in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Maria Callas in the East Coast premiere of Salerni's award winning opera Tony Caruso's Last Broadcast, Nichette in Washington DC's debut of Victor Herbert's Madeleine, and the role of Mother in Menotti's beloved Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Ms. Bingham has also delighted audiences with her charisma and charm in the roles of Valencienne in Lehar's The Merry Widow and Yum-Yum in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado. As a part of her studies with summer opera programs, Ms. Bingham's works include excerpts from Verdi's Rigoletto as Gilda, Manon from Massanet's Manon, Norina from Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Donna Anna from Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Ms. Bingham's concert performances include Mozart's Requiem Mass with the Reston Chorale, Bach's Cantata No. 51 with New York's Metro Chamber Orchestra, Handel's Christmas and Easter Messiahs in many venues throughout the DC Metro area and Dvorak's Mass in D in McLean, VA. Ms. Bingham appeared as a featured performer in Graz, Austria, where she worked with world-renown Maestro, Edoardo Müller.

Ms. Bingham has also appeared in master classes for Gabriella Lechner, Peter Mark and Elaine Walter and was a featured performer in Renee Fleming's Master Class Series at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, performing the role of Sophie from Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier trio.

Winner of the 2013's season of the Vocal Arts DC Society's Young Artist Recital Competition, Ms. Bingham looks forward to singing in various venues in the Washington, DC area. She continues to organize and perform various recitals to raise funds for local charities in the Northern Virginia area. She currently studies with Michael Parker in Washington, DC.

Baritone Jeffrey Grayson Gates is a Texas native who is quickly distinguishing himself as a talented young performer across the United States. Most recently, Mr. Gates was selected as a winner of the Vocal Arts DC Young Artists Competition, and the Washington D.C. District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, previously having been a Regional Finalist in the Midwest Region. In 2011, Mr. Gates received Third Place in The American Prize in Vocal Performance - Schorr Memorial Award in Art Song. He was also named the Grand Prize Overall Winner at the 2010 Naftzger Young Artist Auditions - the first male vocalist to win the award since 1946. Shortly after, Mr. Gates completed his Bachelor of Music degree as a student of Dr. William Nield Christensen at Oklahoma City University where he received The Steven Dickson Encouragement Award, sponsored by baritone Ron Raines. Mr. Gates is currently studying under William Sharp at the Peabody Conservatory where he is pursuing his Graduate Performance Diploma in Voice.

Mr. Gates has a widespread repertoire of operatic roles. Most recently, he performed Reverend Hale in The Crucible with the Peabody Opera Theatre. Also at Peabody, he performed the Keeper of the Madhouse in The Rake's Progress as well as covering the role of Nick Shadow. In the last few years Mr. Gates has performed many roles with the Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company, including: Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Rambaldo in La Rondine, Painter in Katarzyna Brochocka's Happy Garden of Life (world premiere), Raul Perez in Pasatieri's Hotel Casablanca (regional premiere), and Cajus in Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. In 2011, Mr. Gates was an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, performing in La Boheme and Dialogues of the Carmelites. He made his debut with Tulsa Opera in 2009 in the Chorus of L'Elisir d'Amore. Mr. Gates performed with Light Opera Oklahoma in the summers of 2007 & 2008 performing various roles including: Samuel in Pirates of Penzance, Counsel and Usher in Trial by Jury, and features in Sweeney Todd, Candide, Naughty Marietta, Oh Coward!, and The Music Man.

In addition to opera and musical theater, Mr. Gates has extensive experience on the concert stage. He has performed as the baritone soloist in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, and excerpts of Vaughan Williams' Hodie with the Oklahoma City University Symphony Orchestra and Choral Program. He has also been featured as the baritone soloist in Händel's Messiah with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and Canterbury Choral Society in 2008 and 2010.

Mr. Gates has twice received the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Young Artist Encouragement Award in Tulsa Oklahoma. He was a finalist in the Sylvia Green Voice Competition, a three-time 1st place winner at Texoma NATS, a semi-finalist in the Crescendo Music Awards, a semi-finalist in the Lois Alba Aria Competition, a three-time recipient of the Texas State Solo & Ensemble Outstanding Performer Award, and also a three-time recipient of the Texas Music Merit Scholar Award.

Jeffrey Grayson Gates' upcoming engagements include: Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with Maryland Concert Opera, Baritone Soloist in Duruflé's Requiem at Epiphany Episcopal Church, the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Peabody Opera Theatre, and Baritone Soloist in Händel's Messiah with the York Symphony Orchestra and Farlington United Methodist Chruch. In 2013, Mr. Gates performing Nilakantha in Delibes' Lakmé with the Peabody Opera Theatre, Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia with Hexacollective, and will also be presenting a series of recitals in the Washington D.C. area with Vocal Arts DC as a part of the Art Song Discovery Series, including his debut on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.

Jeffrey Grayson Gates currently resides in Baltimore, MD with his wife, soprano Courtney Kalbacker. For more information, please visit www.JeffreyGatesBaritone.com.

Past Winners
Previously presented in this series:
2012 Kate Jackman, mezzo-soprano and Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano
2011 Laura Strickling, soprano and Melissa Wimbish, soprano
2010 Aundi Marie Moore, soprano and Jennifer Edwards, soprano
2009 Laura Stuart, soprano Steven Combs, baritone
2008 Brooke Evers, soprano Michael Gallant, tenor
2007 Lisa Eden, soprano Danielle Talamantes, soprano
2006 Randa Rouweyha, soprano Jeffrey Tarr, bass
2005 Sarah Wolfson, soprano Lee Poulis, baritone
2004 Lorriana Markovic, soprano Stacey Mastrian, soprano
2003 Amanda Gosier, soprano Joshua Saxon, baritone