International Vocal Competition 2016

The American Protégé International Vocal Competition 2016 was designed for singers who would like to challenge themselves in a very competitive environment. The Competition was open to solo vocalists and vocal groups of all ages, nationalities and countries.

Participants were required to submit video recording materials for the audition.

Eligibility

We invite school students and adults to participate in the Competition. There is no age limit for the adult participants.

Multiple winners were chosen in each of the following age groups:

Awards

First and Second Place Winners performed

on Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 7:30 PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and

on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 11:30 AM and 7:30 PM at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

$350 Scholarship, Judges’ Favorite Award Trophy, Judges’ Distinction Award Trophy and other Special Awards were granted based on the judges recommendations.

American Protégé Vocal Competition 2016 Results

Jury’s Favorite ($360 Scholarship and Plaque Trophy) Award Winners:

Polina Kornyushenko, 10, she was born July 5th 2005 in Ukraine.  She started her Voice lessons in 2014 in Olga’s Music Studio with Olga Druzhinina. Polina participated in NFMC Auditions in 2015 and 2016 and got Superior (5) rate. She won 1st place and Cash price in Little Mozart International Competition in 2015 and performed in Carnegie Hall. In 2016, she won 3rd place, the title of Laureate and Diploma in “eMuse” Online Music Competition (Athens, Greece). Polina participated in SYM (Ukranian National Festival), NY in 2015 and 2016 as solo vocalist and won 1st places in both. She participates in community social life,  events and recitals as a vocalist. Her academic awards were recognized by President Obama Certificate. Polina also enjoys taking ballet classes in the local Studio, and Piano lessons.
Daleyna Dunlap, 13, is a dramatic soprano that has been performing since the age of six. Her voice repertoire is diverse and eclectic ranging from Broadway to pop; however, classical voice is her greatest gift and passion. She will be attending the prestigious Orange County School of the Arts (OSCA) in Southern California as an eighth grader in the Classical Voice Conservatory. She fulfilled one of her lifetime dreams last year by gracing the Carnegie Hall stage as 2015 American Protégé first place winner for Broadway voice and second place winner for Classical voice. At that time, she was awarded, “Best Performance” in Broadway voice.  She has collected enumerable awards in voice through various organizations such as Hal Leonard, Professional Opera Singers Association, NATS and VO CAL. She shares her gift of voice in her local community on musical theater stages, theme parks, sporting events, churches, hospitals and convalescent homes.
Adam Mombru is a 17-year-old from London, United Kingdom. He is a King’s Scholar and Music Scholar at Eton College, and although primarily an instrumentalist (currently at clarinettist at the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and formerly a student at the Royal College of Music Junior Department), he has sung as an untrained vocalist in school and church choirs until 2015, when he started taking lessons for the first time. He has a passion for jazz, theatrical, and pop music, and as a baritone, has adapted a semi-falsetto to suit the demands of these genres. He also takes advantage of his grounding as a classical pianist to accompany himself as a singer.
Isabella Rachiele is 17 and from Montreal, Canada. She has been singing, dancing and playing and studying music since the age of 5.  She has participated in numerous Broadway Musicals and at the age of 13 completed a two year Broadway program at Montreal’s prestigious Segal Arts Centre. At the age of 15 she was selected to take part in a jazz / blues training that culminated in a solo vocal performance to a crowd of over 3000 people at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.  At 16, she won first prize at the Brome Fair singing/talent competition, co-wrote and directed her own musical, and was awarded the Musical Personality of the Year Award at her High School graduation. She is currently enrolled in a full time music program with a concentration on jazz vocals. Her goal is to continue working on her vocal technique and to keep discovering and immersing herself in the music she loves. In addition to studying singing, she also studies acting and dance.

Judges Distinction Awards (Plaque Trophies) Winners:

Coming from Thailand, Patrajaree Vanichvongvan or better known as Plu has studied piano and singing from the age of 7 and 8, respectively. She has appeared in several singing contests on local television such as “The trainer 5” at the age of 9; winner of the “Star Kids” and made it through the blind audition of the Voice Kids Thailand, Season 3 in 2014. For the ABRSM examination, she has passed Grade 2 singing in 2013 and Grade 4 (with distinction) in 2014. Her big break came in 2015 when she auditioned and beat out more than 200 other candidates for one of von Trapp roles (Martha) in the critically acclaimed Thai production of the Sound of Music. Earlier this year, she was selected as one among half-dozen kids to perform live in front of hundreds of spectators with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra in its annual Concert in the Park.
Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Umphaiporn (Lena) Atipunumphai is attending year 7 at Shrewsbury International School.  Since age of five, she has been practicing music as a positive vocalist and pianist with intense interest and passion. Moreover, she loves playing the guitar and ukulele.  Her achievements in music include passing grade 5 vocal exam with a merit as well as grade 3 piano exam with a distinction from The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.  In 2012, she participated in The Voice Kids Blind auditions in which she was among the 100 selected from 4000 contestants nationwide.  She also advanced to the semi-finals of SET Youth Musician Competition organized by the College of Music, Mahidol University and the semi-finals of The Thai Classical Music Competition. Currently, she is the only year-7 student selected into the school’s Senior Chamber Choir, making her the youngest member of the choir.
Jennea Katic was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. From age 6, Jennea won many regional competitions and in 2010 won Best Overall Performance at South African National Performing Arts Competition. She was selected to represent South Africa at World Championship of Performing Arts, in Los Angeles. At age 8, Jennea moved to USA, and performed with the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theater. She has been invited twice to sing the National Anthem at Marlins Ball Park, has performed at numerous charity, holiday, community events, and sings in her church band. In 2011, she wrote and recorded her own song and is currently developing her skills and techniques under the tutorship of Mike Soper. Jennea is an 8th grade Honors student at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and two-time winner of the Pinnacle Award for Excellence (Broward County School Association). She is a member of her school’s FIRST robotics team.

Third Place and Honorable Mention Winners were notified via email regarding their placement and recitals schedule.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!