2024 Competition

11th Annual Handel Aria Competition

August 9, 2024, at 7:30pm CDT
Grace Episcopal Church, Madison, Wisconsin

The 11th Annual Handel Aria Competition took place August 9th, 2024 at 7:30pm at the Grace Episcopal Church, Madison, Wisconsin.  The finalists were selected from a field of applications from around the world and accompanied by the Madison Bach Musicians under the direction of Trevor Stephenson.

Winners

First prize: Elijah McCormack, male soprano
Second prize: Chea Kang, soprano
Third prize: Matthew Hill, tenor

Left to right: Matthew Hill, Elijah McCormack, and Chea Kang | Photograph by TKO Photo Arts

Finalists

The finalists are, clockwise from upper left:

Please note that Amy Broadbent, soprano, was unable to come due to illness.

Matthew Hill, tenor

Praised for “clarion high notes placed with unfailing precision,” (Washington Classical Review) tenor Matthew Hill is a versatile performer who excels in opera, oratorio, and art song. Matthew has appeared as a concert soloist with ensembles including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Washington National Cathedral, American Bach Soloists, the Washington Bach Consort, and the Thirteen, in repertoire including Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, Handel’s Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Mozart’s Requiem, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces. Additionally, Matthew is a founding member of The Polyphonists and serves as assistant conductor of the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants. Matthew’s stage credits include: the title roles in Rameau’s Pygmalion and Handel’s Belshazzar with American Bach Soloists, Candide (cover – Candide) with Washington National Opera, Older brother in Dead Man Walking (Washington National Opera), Jack in Into the Woods (Annapolis Opera), Marcellus in Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet (Washington Concert Opera), Parpignol in La Bohème (Wolf Trap Opera), Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Maryland Opera Studio and Siena Music Festival), Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Maryland Opera Studio), and Damon in Acis and Galatea (New Dominion Chorale). Matthew was awarded 1st place in the Bethlehem Bach Young American Singers Competition, the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards, and the Washington International Competition for Voice. Matthew holds degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Harrison Hintzsche, baritone

Baritone Harrison Hintzsche is a recitalist, concert singer, and ensemble musician who has been praised for his warm lyric tone, musical subtlety, and dedication to text. His interpretation of Schubert at London’s Wigmore Hall with pianist Graham Johnson was noted by Opera Today for its “strong sense of narrative” and “gentle poignancy.” Hintzsche won first prize at the 2021 Colorado Bach Ensemble Young Artist Competition as well as the 2018 Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota Voice Competition, and was the 2020 recipient of the Margot FasslerPrize in the Performance of Sacred Music from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Recent soloist performance highlights include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Colorado Bach Ensemble, Bach’s Magnificat and St. John Passion with the Oregon Bach Festival, Handel’s Messiah with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, John Blow’s opera Venus & Adonis with Early Music Access Project, and Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Vaughn Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Choral Society of the Hamptons. He has recorded Lieder by Luise Greger on New Muses Project’s inaugural self-titled album, as well as the bass arias and role of Pilate on Cantata Collective’s live performance recording of Bach’s St. John Passion, led by Nicholas McGegan. Hintzsche sings regularly with some of the nation’s leading choral ensembles, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, and Ensemble Altera, among many others. He holds degrees in vocal performance from Yale University and St. Olaf College, and is a native of DeKalb, Illinois.

Chea Kang, soprano

Chea Kang is a soprano from South Korea. Her recent engagements include Papagena cover in The Magic Flute at the San Francisco Opera during the summer of 2024, where she first appeared on stage as Sister Catherine in Dialogues of the Carmelites in 2022. She was a semi-finalist in this year’s Concert Artists Guild competition and was a 2023 young artist at the Georg Solti Accademia. She has also performed at the De Young Museum as a soloist in Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom exhibition. Chea holds a bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is currently studying with César Ulloa, earning her Artist Diploma at the conservatory, where she has played various leading roles in operas by Handel, Mozart, Ravel and Puccini.

Elijah McCormack, male soprano

Elijah McCormack, male soprano, is quickly distinguishing himself as a versatile performer of both early and new music. He performs concert and opera as both a soloist and ensemble member, throughout North America and internationally. He has performed with ensembles such as Washington Bach Consort, Seraphic Fire, American Bach Soloists, Ensemble Altera, Dallas Bach Society, Anima Early Music, Ars Lyrica Houston, and ChamberQUEER, singing both major works and chamber programs. Reviews celebrate his “luminosity” of tone (Washington Post) and “fresh timbre and unforced top range” (South Florida Classical Review). He recently made his professional European debut as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, with Camerata Lipsiensis. He has participated in several world premieres with the new music ensemble The Crossing. Opera credits include: IN Series’s transformative production of Monteverdi’s “The Return of Ulysses” (Telemachus); Lowell House Opera’s world premiere of NIGHTTOWN (Bell[x] Cohen); Haymarket Opera Company’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Amore/Valletto); and IlluminArts Miami’s Turn of the Screw (Miles). He was awarded second place in the Lyndon-Woodside Oratorio Competition in 2023 and has been a finalist in the Keller Bach Musician Award and semifinalist in Poème Harmonique’s Corneille Baroque Competition. He received his master’s degree in Historical Performance at Indiana University, where he studied with Steven Rickards.

Edmond Rodriguez, tenor

Edmond Rodriguez is a Latin American tenor from Miami, FL, completing the first year of his Master’s Degree under the guidance of Robin Rice. In 2022, Mr. Rodriguez was a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center where he was cast in George Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence. His performance was recognized for its “pure, guileless high range” (The Boston Globe) and “frightening dignity” (The New York Times). In 2023, Mr. Rodriguez made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Steve Reich’s Traveler’s Prayer and his Messiah (Handel) Debut with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall. In 2024, he was the only tenor invited to Renee Fleming’s SongStudio program hosted at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Rodriguez has performed roles such as Anthony in Sweeney Todd, the Young King in Lessons in Love and Violence, Le Pêcheur in Le rossignol, the Man with the Old Luggage in Postcard from Morocco, and La Rainette in L’enfant et les sortilèges. Mr. Rodriguez has trained at the Tanglewood Music Center, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Southern California. Additionally, Mr. Rodriguez has film credits as a background vocalist. His voice can be heard on projects such as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Encanto (2021), Nope (2022), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). He has sung as a back-up singer for Aloe Blacc, the Rolling Stones, and sang on Rosalia’s most recent album Motomami (2022). Edmond’s on-screen television credits include vocals
for shows Grown-ish and Hunters.

Final Round Judges

The judges for the final round of the 9th annual Handel Aria Competition, on the right, were Chase Hopkins, Sam Handley, and Paul Rowe. | Photo by Lewis Photography

Chase Hopkins

Chase Hopkins is the general director of Chicago’s acclaimed Haymarket Opera Company and the artistic director of Opera Edwardsville. Hopkins was appointed as Haymarket’s first general director in 2020. Recently, Hopkins made his directorial debut at Haymarket Opera Company with Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra starring Kangmin Justin Kim and Lauren Decker, which received praise from Heidi Waleson in the Wall Street Journal, saying “Chase Hopkins, the director, wisely had the performers interact naturalistically, and the portrait of their relationship deepened through the evening.” Chicago Classical Review praised Hopkins’ staging as “skillful and alert to the intimate nature of the piece.” Previously, Hopkins served as a creative producer for three innovative cinematic productions of Handel operas that received praise as “an inspiring and relevant modern production” (Operawire) and “a superb document of a Handel opera” (Chicago Tribune). Hopkins served as creative producer for the 2022 production of L’Amant Anonyme by Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, which was praised by the Chicago Tribune for “making history.” The world-premiere recording of this forgotten work was released in collaboration with Chicago’s Grammy Award-winning label, Cedille Records, earning a 5-star review from the BBC Music Magazine and praise for “luxury casting” by Gramophone. Hopkins also served as creative producer for Haymarket’s 2022 production of L’incoronazione di Poppea, which was included in the Chicago Tribune’s “Top Performances of 2022.” In 2024, Hopkins completed executive training through the Harvard Business School and will direct Handel’s Tamerlano at Haymarket Opera Company.

Erica Schuller

Praised for her “lively personality, abundant charm, and luscious vocalism” (Chicago Tribune), and “crystalline clarity” (BBC Music), soprano Erica Schuller is a versatile performer, recognized for bringing committed artistry to a broad musical repertory. Credits include leading and supporting roles with The Boston Early Music Festival, Haymarket Opera, Apollo’s Fire, Odyssey Opera, Florentine Opera, Opera Siam (Bangkok), Skylight Opera Theater and Intermountain Opera Boseman. As a concert soloist, Ms. Schuller has performed with Jacksonville Symphony, Ars Lyrica Houston, Newberry Consort, Incantare, Lincoln Trio, New Trinity Baroque, Great Lakes Baroque, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and San Francisco Bach Choir. Recording credits include Marte in Salir ed Amor del Mundo (Dorian Records), The Boston Early Music Festival’s Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s opera Psyché and Jeannette in Haymarket Opera’s world premier recording of Joseph Bologne’s L’Amant Anonyme (Cedille Records). Ms. Schuller is the director of the Cantabile School of Voice and Piano in Chicago and a vocal instructor at the University of Chicago. 

Matthew Trevño

Hailed as “a bass of rare talent” (San Francisco Chronicle) possessing a ”mellifluous bass that is at once robust and gentle” (Opera Magazine),  American bass Matthew Treviño is captivating audiences through his work in opera, theater, and the recording arts.  A Texas native, Treviño enjoys an active career on stage and stars in numerous studio recordings of new works including The Canterville Ghost by Gordon Getty (Pentatone), The Man Who Mistook his Wife For a Hat by Michael Nyman (Naxos), and Three Way by Robert Patterson (American Modern Recordings).  

Most recently, Treviño performed the role of Dr. Bartolo in Clagary Opera’s Le nozze di Figaro and Dr P in Nashville Opera’s revival of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.  Other recent highlights include Bonze in Madama Butterfly and Ferrando in Il Trovatore with L’Opéra de Montréal, Friar Laurent in Roméo et Juliette with Florentine Opera,  Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata with the Calgary Opera, Dr. Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with the Austin Opera, and with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, as Le père de famille in Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ.  

Mr. Treviño has served as the Professor of Voice and Voice Area Chair at McGill University in Montreal and was appointed Professor of Voice with the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 2024. l Association of Teachers of Singing and Executive and Artistic Director of the Green Lake Festival of Music.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Sam now resides in Sheboygan, WI, and enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, especially while camping, hiking, sailing, cooking, fine dining, and keeping up with their Labrador Finzi!

Program

2024 Handel Aria Program WebDownload

Watch 2024’s Competition

View past performances by finalists and competition winners on our YouTube channel.

Support Us Your donation helps us support emerging singers throughout the competition process by underwriting travel grants and awards, as well as providing remuneration for competition judges and instrumental accompanists.