It's a clean sweep for U of T Music students and alumni at COC's Centre Stage
University of Toronto talent took the Canadian Opera Company’s (COC) annual Ensemble Studio competition by storm October 30, winning all of the night's prizes. Soprano Midori Marsh (pictured), current U of T Opera master’s student, performed “Quel guardo, il cavaliere” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, taking home the evening’s top place of First Prize ($5000) and a performance at the summer Elora Festival of Song. Midori also won the Audience Choice Award ($1500), selected by audience members throughout the evening. Second Prize ($3500) went to bass-baritone and current U of T Opera master’s student Alex Halliday, performing “Sorge Infausta Una Procella” from Handel’s Orlando. U of T Voice alumna Charlotte Siegel won Third Prize ($2000) for her performance of “Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle” from Gounod’s Faust, while fellow U of T Voice alumnus Marcel d'Entremont took home the CBC Music Young Artist Development Prize, winning a professional studio recording session to be broadcast as part CBC Music’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.
Each year, young aspiring opera singers from across the country take part in competing for cash prizes and a chance to join the COC’s Ensemble Studio. Finalists are selected to perform at R. Fraser Elliott Hall at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts for a panel of judges as part of the Centre Stage gala in Toronto. At this year's competition, six out of the seven chosen finalists represented the U of T Faculty of Music as both current students and alumni, hailing from departments of both Opera and Voice Studies.
Pictured from left: U of T Music alumni Brenden Friesen, Charlotte Siegel and Marcel d'Entremont, current students Midori Marsh and Alex Halliday, finalist Kirsten LeBlanc, and alumna Sarah Bissonnette (photo by Michael Cooper, courtesy of the Canadian Opera Company)
The COC’s Ensemble Studio is an educational program for young artists offering intensive operatic training directed for career success. U of T Opera alumni and past winners of Centre Stage Joel Allison, Simona Genga, Jamie Groote and Matthew Cairns are members of the Ensemble Studio, and are pictured below alongside Brendan Friesen, Alex Halliday, Midori Marsh, and Professors Sandra Horst and Wendy Nielsen.
Congratulations to all on a truly amazing evening!
Article by Kristen Antunes, Master's student in Music Technology & Digital Media
TORONTO
The University of Toronto is a world-renowned university in a celebrated city where knowledge meets achievement, history meets future and ambitions meets inspiration. Leading academics and employers from around the world have rated the University of Toronto as #1 in Canada and among the best in the world. Our undergraduate students have an exceptional range, choice and depth of study; they can choose from 700 academic programs, learn from the best minds, get involved with research, and take advantage of smaller learning communities across our three campuses, which span the Greater Toronto Area. Each campus offers a wealth of opportunities across multiple disciplines. To the west, the University of Toronto Mississauga combines advanced research with an intimate academic experience. The University of Toronto’s St. George campus features diverse college communities within Toronto’s vibrant downtown core. And to the east, the University of Toronto Scarborough leads community-engaged research, hands-on learning and co-op programs both locally and internationally. Working with faculty and other students in close-knit communities, our students tailor their experiences to their interests and develop passions that help them make their mark on the world.
TORONTO MUSIC
Home to Canada's largest number of musicians and venues, Toronto is a creative and business hub for music in Canada.
While in Toronto, plan on attending a performance of the Canadian Opera Company or the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Check out Toronto Life and Toronto (the official website of Tourism Toronto) for current shows, concerts and events.
There's music around every corner.
OUR U of T
We are very proud to be part of U of T—a vibrant university community located in an amazing city with global reach.
U of T is a leader in research and teaching, an intellectual environment unmatched in depth and breadth.
We live here.
U of T MUSIC
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto brings together creative and motivated students with outstanding educators. With extensive curricula in fields such as classical and jazz performance, music education, composition, music history, music theory, and ethnomusicology, the Faculty of Music also offers courses that explore music’s intersections with health sciences, technology, and humanities.
Our commitment to artistic and academic achievement, the vast possibilities of the University of Toronto campus, and the vibrant and diverse cultural life of Toronto provide an exciting and inspiring learning environment.
HEAR
Our season is well underway and there is so much to choose from.
Visit our online calendar often for concerts and events and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exciting premieres, livestreams and performances from our archives.