Two Grand Valley finalists in Opera Grand Rapids Collegiate Vocal Competition

Two Grand Valley vocal music students were among the nine who made it to the Opera Grand Rapids’ annual Collegiate Vocal Competition Final Round Concert April 14 at the Betty Van Andel Opera Center.

A record number of students entered this year’s competition preliminary round in March, including Grand Valley finalists Emalie Huber and Andrea Fleming. The annual event provides an opportunity for the finest student vocalists being trained full-time at Greater Grand Rapids area colleges and universities to compete in a professional competition and to be recognized for excellence by a professional opera company.

Entrants to the competition were required to perform two arias in differing styles, languages, and composers from an opera or operetta.

Fleming, a mezzo soprano, took second place with her performance of “Non so piú cosa son” from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and “Seeräuber Jenny” from Weill’s Die Dreigroschenoper. In the same competition last year, she took third place.
 
Huber, a soprano, performed “Non disperar” from Handel’s Giulio Cesare and “Elle a fui, la tourterelle” from Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffman. She was recently awarded the Opera Grand Rapids Betty VanAndel Scholarship, which promotes opera in West Michigan by encouraging people who have distinguished themselves as exceptional candidates to pursue continuing education and development in an opera-related field.
 
Chelsea Helm, of Western Michigan University, claimed first place, and Hope College’s Jenna Buck took third place.