International Vocal Competition 2017
The American Protégé International Vocal Competition is designed for singers who would like to challenge themselves in a very competitive environment. The Competition is open to solo vocalists and vocal groups of all ages, nationalities and countries.
Participants are required to submit video recording materials for the audition.
A panel of qualified judges evaluates audition materials. All judges are independent, their students are not allowed to apply this season.
Eligibility
We invite school students and adults to participate in the Competition. There is no age limit for the adult participants.
Multiple winners will be chosen in each of the following age groups:
| Category: | Age: |
| Young Singers | 5 - 10 |
| Junior | 11 - 14 |
| Intermediate | 15 - 17 |
| Amateur (without Professional Degree) | 18 and older |
| College students and professional singers | 18 and older |
Awards
First and Second Place Winners performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City
on December 16, 2017 at 7:30 PM and
on December 17, 2017 at 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM.
$300 Scholarship, Judges’ Favorite Award Trophy, Judges’ Distinction Award Trophy and other Special Awards may be granted based on the judges recommendations.
International Vocal Competition 2017 Results:
Judges’ Distinction (Plaque Trophy) Award Winners
Sophia Willingham is a 7th grader from Wellington, Florida. She began vocal lessons with Michael Soper February 2015 and immediately had an affinity for the musical theater genre. She was named finalist in the Starz of the Future Talent Competition, December 2017 and was a finalist in the Wellington Idol Vocal Competition winter 2016 and 2017. She is a gifted dancer and pianist who loves to bring the story of a song to life through her performance.
Kristin Leible is a sixth-grade student, at BAK Middle School of the Arts, in Palm Beach, Florida. Majoring in Theater, she feels the schools gives her the freedom to express her deep passion for the performing arts. Kristin recently performed the song Memory (CATS) to the International Thespian Society and was recognized as a Superior Solo Music Theater performer, achieving maximum level of success in all categories. Singing is her passion, her first love, her heart, and she dreams and hopes that one day she will somehow make a difference in the world using her voice as an instrument of hope and love!
Emily Taylor Kaufman is 12 years old and has been performing around South Florida since she was 6. She performs her own show at senior communities and sings pop songs around town. She is a featured National Anthem singer for the Florida Marlins Baseball games as well as 30 non profit organizations. She has been in 17 musical theatre productions. Emily was hand picked by Phil Collins for his local mentoring program, The Little Dreams Foundation, and has performed with Phil onstage. Emily is the 2017 winner of the South Florida Kids Got Talent competition, and has earned high accolades for tap and jazz performances at regional and national dance competitions.
Angelina Tharitimanont is an Equity Membership Candidate (EMC) and has performed in the regional Broadway show at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre including The King and I as a Royal Princess and Billy Elliot as a Ballet Girl. Under the training of Mike Soper, Angelina has also performed in various music venues including National Anthem at Roger Dean Stadium and was a finalist in Wellington Idol. Angelina is 13 years old from West Palm Beach, FL. She is currently attending Bak Middle School of the Art, where she is an 8th grade gifted honor roll student, majoring in Theatre. Other performance credit includes Miami City Ballet; George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Solider, Polichinelle) Angelina is a member of Jr. International Thespian Society, Broadway Artist Alliance, Destination Broadway, and Florida Dance Master.
Elizabeth Grace Minerman is a 9th grader at the Orange County School of the Arts and is part of the Classical Voice Conservatory. Elizabeth began studying classical voice in 6th grade under the coaching of Kathleen Martin, Vera Calabria and Bill Vendice. Elizabeth was selected to attend Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices (Summer Program 2017). She participates in vocal competitions and has placed 2nd, 3rd and received honorable mention; this past year, she qualified for round two of the LA Music Center Spotlight competition. Last summer (2016), she participated in the Classical Voice choir’s Germany/Austria choir tour. Elizabeth has a passion for Opera and great plans for an international career in the field.
Emma Grace Potts is fifteen years old and from Mechanicsville, Virginia. She was a 2016 American Protege first place winner in the Opera Aria category. Emma is a sophomore at Hanover High School. She is a member of her school’s chamber chorus and show choir. She represented Hanover High School in the Capital District Chorus for the past two years, having been rated a top soprano each year. Emma began singing in church at the age of nine. She was a member of City Singers Youth Choirs for four years and had the privilege of singing with the Richmond Symphony and Choir and the Richmond Choral Society. She is currently a student of Irish soprano Anne O’Byrne.
| First Place Winners: | ||
| Name | Age | City/State/Country |
| Young Singers Category, Age 5 to 10: | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Mia Ye | 8 | Baltimore, MD |
| Student of Chunfeng Li | ||
| Alejandra Gaspar – Hulbert | 10 | San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Student of Carlos Velazco | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Phanplueksa Pasvoravit | 8 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Lullalit Supatravanij | ||
| Amba Shankari Jambu | 9 | Bangalore, India |
| Student of Rattan Mohan Sharma | ||
| Anna Tanaka | 9 | Samut Prakan, Thailand |
| Student of Rapeeporn Pratum-Anon | ||
| Jillian Orluk | 9 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Kimberly Potfora | ||
| Ava Philippone | 10 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Stephen Piotrowski | ||
| Elisa Hu | 10 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Liya Fang | ||
| Krista Shim | 10 | Bangna, Thailand |
| Student of Rapeeporn Pratum-Anon | ||
| Lilo Baier | 10 | Singapore |
| Student of Kuo Po | ||
| Sophie Cheung | 10 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Liya Fang | ||
| Folk/Traditional | ||
| Faith Ong | 8 | Singapore |
| Elisabeth Connors | 9 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Farida Nelson, M.A. | ||
| Junior Category, Age 11 to 14: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Aliyah Douglas | 12 | Oro Valley, AZ |
| Student of Stephanie Morgan Fox | ||
| William Huff | 12 | Peachtree City, GA |
| Student of Heather Statham | ||
| Esther Wu | 13 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Min Sheng Yang | ||
| Katherine Vandermel | 14 | Closter, NJ |
| Student of Kryste Andrews | ||
| Katherine Xie | 14 | San Gabriel, CA |
| Student of Xinxin Martin | ||
| Sasha Tang | 14 | Fremont, CA |
| Student of Zhongyan Liu | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Aliyah Douglas | 12 | Tucson, AZ |
| Student of Stephanie Morgan Fox | ||
| Rada Anuras | 12 | Wattana, Thailand |
| Student of Rapeeporn Pratum-Anon | ||
| Claudia Sachs | 14 | Richmond, VA |
| Student of Lynnelle Ediger and Gaelyn Elliott Young | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Adam Jan Przyjemski | 11 | Hamilton, Canada |
| Student of Kinga Mitrowska | ||
| Arinda Chotiyanon | 11 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Rapeeporn Pratum-Anon | ||
| Catie Harvey | 11 | Stamford, CT |
| Student of Badiene Magaziner | ||
| Ella Cesca | 11 | Winnetka, IL |
| Student of Laura Good | ||
| Marcela Lopez | 11 | West Palm Beach, FL |
| Student of Mike Soper | ||
| Sophia Willingham | 11 | Wellington, FL |
| Student of Michael Soper | ||
| Aliyah Douglas | 12 | Oro Valley, AZ |
| Student of Stephanie Fox | ||
| Emily Taylor Kaufman | 12 | Cooper City, FL |
| Student of Ben Bagby and Mike Soper | ||
| Kristin Leible | 12 | Wellington, FL |
| Student of Mike Soper | ||
| William Huff | 12 | Peachtree City, GA |
| Student of Heather Statham | ||
| Angelina Tharitimanont | 13 | Royal Palm Beach, FL |
| Student of Mike Soper | ||
| Emily James | 13 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Zachary Carr | ||
| Flora Yuan | 13 | San Diego, CA |
| Student of Wei Feng | ||
| Angela Gao | 14 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Alison Collins | ||
| Hannah Schubring | 14 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Zachary Carr | ||
| Lindsey Russ | 14 | Roslyn, NY |
| Student of Mason Senft and Allison Hungate Wood | ||
| Intermediate Category, Age 15 to 17: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Alina Dong | 15 | Houston, TX |
| Student of Summer Haiyan Song | ||
| Emma Potts | 15 | Mechanicsville, VA |
| Student of Anne O’Byrne | ||
| Justine Wang | 15 | San Marino, CA |
| Student of Richard Seymour and Xin Xin Sun | ||
| LeAnne Lin | 15 | Vernon Hills, IL |
| Student of Dr. Vanessa Liao | ||
| Lara van Vuuren | 16 | Singapore |
| Student of Alexandra Novicova | ||
| Matija Tomas | 17 | Glen Allen, VA |
| Student of Anthony Smith | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Elizabeth Minerman | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Student of Kathleen Martin | ||
| Eugene Hwang | 15 | Irvine, CA |
| Rachel Shuk-Ching Ng | 16 | Lam Tin, Hong Kong |
| Student of Jeffie Leung | ||
| Ameya Chavda | 17 | Dallas, TX |
| Student of Jared Schwartz | ||
| Emily Rocha | 17 | Courtice, Canada |
| Student of Dr. Robert Loewen | ||
| Juliet Ortiz | 17 | Chesapeake, VA |
| Student of Shelly Milam-Ratliff | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Christiana Schiller | 15 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Pamela Serrano and Andy Kwan | ||
| Mahnaz Carroll | 15 | Plantation, FL |
| Student of Michael Soper | ||
| Gionna Mariano | 17 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Kimberly Potfora | ||
| Category College Students and Professional Singers: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Gyuyeon Shim | 28 | Boston, MA |
| Student of Lorraine Nubar and Marlena Malas | ||
| Kantinun Kiraticharoennun | 37 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Sarah Kim | 29 | Cliffside Park, NJ |
| Student of Maitland Peters and Arlene Shurut | ||
| Cipriano Jr. Mercado De Guzman | 32 | Hiroshima, Japan |
| Student of Hiroharu Orikawa and Irma Ponce Enrile-Potenciano | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Wei Feng | 53 | San Diego, CA |
| Amateur Category: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Sammi Su | 17 | West Covina, CA |
| Student of Xin Xin Martin | ||
| Jialiang Wang | 22 | Beijing, China |
| Student of Heng Shi and Min Liu | ||
| Chun Ling Ong | 37 | Georgetown, Malaysia |
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Andrew Zhang | 20 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Zhongyan Liu | ||
| Liliana Iżyk | 24 | Lubin, Poland |
| Student of Magda Bigoś | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Sammi Su | 17 | West Covina, CA |
| Student of Xin Xin Martin | ||
| Marcel Mendoza | 18 | Marietta, GA |
| Student of Heather Statham | ||
| Folk/Traditional | ||
| Chun Ling Ong | 37 | Georgetown, Malaysia |
| Second Place Winners: | ||
| Young Singers Category, Age 5 to 10: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Keiko Kiyashka | 10 | Forest Hills, NY |
| Student of Jennifer Grimaldi and Mary Kay McGarvey | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Faith Ong | 8 | Singapore |
| Nutthaporn Narissirikul | 8 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Ploen Sopitpongstorn | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Caitlin Wong | 7 | Singapore |
| Student of Grace Ng Ee Wern | ||
| Charmaine Chan | 7 | Singapore |
| Student of Grace Ng Ee Wern | ||
| Elyssa Duggan | 7 | Lansdale, PA |
| Student of Hye Eun Choi | ||
| Faith Ong | 8 | Singapore |
| Rasika Techajaroenvikul | 8 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Lullalit Supatravanij | ||
| Sophie Wittchen | 8 | Singapore |
| Student of Grace Ng Ee Wern | ||
| Macy Gabel | 9 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Kacy Harrison | ||
| Nicolas Huff | 9 | Peachtree City, GA |
| Student of Heather Statham | ||
| Pucknipa Bhengsri | 10 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Lullalit Supatravanij | ||
| Satita (Jade) Ninsuvannakul | 10 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Rapeeporn Pratum-Anon | ||
| Sienna Santangelo | 10 | Brooklyn, NY |
| Student of Jordan Scott Gilbert | ||
| Junior Category, Age 11 to 14: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Ruby Suito | 14 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Student of Kantinun Kiratichroennun | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Connie Jiang | 11 | Saratoga, CA |
| Student of Min Sheng Yang | ||
| Thornton Tuetvongse | 11 | Rajthevi, Thailand |
| Student of Koravee Soonthonwipat | ||
| Skandan R. Gurumurthy | 12 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Anna Veleva | ||
| Katelyn Baker | 13 | Fresno, CA |
| Student of Terry Estabrook | ||
| Emily Hu | 14 | San Jose, CA |
| Student of Liya Fang | ||
| Marianne Bautista | 14 | Renton, WA |
| Student of Melissa Fleming | ||
| Miraya Bhayani | 14 | Singapore |
| Sudent of Quek Soo Hiang Lim | ||
| Rin Yonezawa | 14 | Harrison, NY |
| Student of Naoko Nakagawa | ||
| Voice Duo: | ||
| Connie Jiang | 11 | Saratoga, CA |
| Esther Wu | 13 | Saratoga, CA |
| Students of Min Sheng Yang | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Janani Vittal | 11 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Nadine Kulberg | ||
| Michelle Park | 11 | Blue Bell, PA |
| Student of Hazel Choi | ||
| Thornton Tuetvongse | 11 | Rajthevi, Thailand |
| Student of Koravee Soonthonwipat | ||
| Bunyaon Srisuponvanit | 12 | Bang Ko Laem, Thailand |
| Student of Zinnia Grace Zamar Du and Withee Chewathanyatarn | ||
| Ting Eng | 12 | Singapore |
| Student of Grace Ng Ee Wern | ||
| Victoria Walker | 12 | Honolulu, HI |
| Student of Chris Lowe | ||
| Arundhati Kartik | 13 | Bangalore, India |
| Student of Sandra Oberoi | ||
| Catherine Moeller | 13 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Kimberly Potfora | ||
| Elise Marra | 13 | Commerce Township, MI |
| Student of Danielle Wright | ||
| Sarah Maxwell | 13 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Kimberly Potfora | ||
| Mikaela Bautista | 13 | Renton, WA |
| Student of Melissa Fleming | ||
| Yana Ebbing | 13 | West Bloomfield, MI |
| Student of Gracie Calvaneso and Katrina Van Maanen | ||
| Katherine Xie | 14 | San Gabriel, CA |
| Student of Xinxin Martin | ||
| Miraya Bhayani | 14 | Singapore |
| Sudent of Quek Soo Hiang Lim | ||
| Regan Gellerson | 14 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Kimberly Potfora | ||
| Tiara Oberoi | 14 | Bangalore, India |
| Student of Sandra Oberoi | ||
| Voice Duo: | ||
| Nicolas Huff | 9 | Peachtree City, GA |
| Alex Huff | 12 | Peachtree City, GA |
| Students of Heather Statham | ||
| Intermediate Category, Age 15 to 17: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Ananya Gurumurthy | 15 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Anna Veleva | ||
| Larissa Culbertson | 15 | Wayne, PA |
| Student of Badiene Magaziner and Chloe Olivia Moore | ||
| Samuel Llamzon | 15 | Singapore |
| Student of Alexandra Novicova | ||
| Arman Chowdhury | 16 | West Hartford, CT |
| Sophie Zhang | 16 | Dunwoody, GA |
| Student of Qian Li | ||
| Brittany Hoffman | 17 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Zachary Carr | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Lucia Lin | 15 | Oakland Gardens, NY |
| Student of Francesca Carselli | ||
| Colin Aikins | 17 | Lower Burrell, PA |
| Student of Maria Spacagna | ||
| Kasey Park | 17 | Bayside, NY |
| Student of SooHyun Oh | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Ananya Gurumurthy | 15 | Scarsdale, NY |
| Student of Anna Veleva | ||
| Justine Wang | 15 | San Marino, CA |
| Student of Richard Seymour and Xin Xin Sun | ||
| Larissa Culbertson | 15 | Wayne, PA |
| Student of Badiene Magaziner and Chloe Olivia Moore | ||
| Shaudeh Farjami | 15 | Laguna Niguel, CA |
| Student of Zachary Hanna | ||
| Ishani Sikdar | 16 | San Jose , CA |
| Student of Majhon Lenel | ||
| Jeremiah Martinez | 17 | North Tonawanda, NY |
| Student of Stephen Piotrowski | ||
| Justin Xie | 17 | Cupertino, CA |
| Student of Kathleen Ludowise | ||
| Category College Students and Professional Singers: | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Hyewon Jung | 20 | Muan-gun, South Korea |
| Belyana Hristova | 27 | Boston, MA |
| Student of Linda Balliro | ||
| Classical Repertoire | ||
| Wenhan Gong | 23 | Shanghai, China |
| Amateur Category: | ||
| Opera Aria | ||
| Kolter Yagual | 18 | Brick, NJ |
| Student of Nicole Hodge | ||
| Ray Park | 19 | Bayside, NY |
| Student of SooHyun Oh | ||
| Broadway/Musical Theatre/Jazz | ||
| Alysha Prynn | 27 | Bairnsdale, Australia |
Third Place and Honorable Mention Winners will be notified of their standing via email.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!