Soprano Jacqueline Noparstak wins 2008 Sembrich Competition

(l-r) John Brancy, Elaine Malbin, Miroslaw Witkowski, Thomas Pniewski,
Nedda Casei, Alfred Hubay, Jacqueline Noparstak, Diego Matamoros)

Jacqueline Noparstak, soprano, won First Prize in the 2008 Sembrich Voice Scholarship Competition organized by the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City. A native of Eugene, Oregon, Ms. Noparstak studied at Columbia University and now resides in New York City. She has appeared throughout the United States and won numerous competitions, most recently in the 2007 Liederkranz Foundation in New York. Ms. Noparstak received a $2,000 cash scholarship prize

Second Prize was won by bass Miroslaw Witkowski, a graduate of the Lodz Conservatory currently pursuing a Performer’s Diploma at Indiana University; he will receive a prize of $1,250. A Third Prize cash scholarship of $750 was awarded to baritone John Brancy, a first-year student at The Juilliard School, where he studies with Cynthia Hoffmann. The judges also presented a Special Mention to baritone Diego Matamoros, a graduate of the Yale School of Music.

Prizes were generously provided by the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, which also maintains the Sembrich Museum in Bolton Landing, New York (www.operamuseum.org) ; and Ms. Ann Coxe Zagoreos, herself a singer and for many years associated with the Sembrich Museum and with support for the arts.
Jurors included Alfred Hubay, a long-time manager and administrator at the Metropolitan Opera, who also judges for the George London Foundation; Nedda Casei, of the Metropolitan Opera; and Elaine Malbin, of New York City Opera and San Francisco Opera.

Contestants were required to prepare a representative repertoire including songs and arias, selections by Moniuszko and contemporary American and Polish works. . Auditions were held at Hunter College on Saturday, March 8.

The Competition honors Marcella Sembrich, the great Polish soprano who won an international reputation and established the voice faculties at both the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute. Sembrich was not only a great artist but also a deeply loved teacher. Previous winners include Barbara Hendricks and Jan Opalach.
Held every two years, the next Sembrich Voice Competition will take place in Spring 2010.

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