The 2017 awards and grants to eight singers with Wagnerian potential, totaling $16,000, were announced by Scott Carlton, Artistic Director of the Society's Singer programs. The top two winners are: 

Suzanne Hendrix, mezzo - Robert Lauch Memorial Fund Award: $6,000. Mezzo-soprano Suzanne Hendrix has been described as having "amazing power," (San Francisco Classical Voice) and has been hailed for her "one-of-a kind richness" (kcmetropolis.org), as well as her acting skills.Ms. Hendrix is the winner of the 2012 George London Foundation - Kirsten Flagstad Award. She is also the winner of a Gerda Lissner Foundation grant. She attended the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory as well as the University of Northern Iowa. Click here to learn more.

David Leigh, bass - Ursula Springer Memorial Fund Award: $3,000. David Leigh’s deep, visceral voice and intelligent singing have drawn acclaim throughout the United States and abroad. David studied music composition at Yale University and holds master’s degrees in Voice and Opera (respectively) from Mannes College and Yale School of Music, from which he received the Harriet Gibbs Fox Prize. He has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the McCammon Competition at Forth Worth Opera, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Click here to learn more.

Carami Hilaire, soprano - $2,000 encouragement grant. A soulful soprano from Brooklyn, New York who has worked with both Sarasota and Saratoga Opera companies. Carami is a graduate of the Professional Studies program at Mannes. She is a Belvedere Competition qualifier, a Julian Autrey foundation grant winner and a 2017 Harlem Opera Competition winner. Carami has also received an award from the Premiere Opera competition. Click here to learn more.

Emma McDermott, soprano - $1,000 encouragement grant. Emma has been described as having “a large voice that carried easily over the orchestra” by the Washington Post and as a “spectacular prima donna” by belcanto.ru. A native of California, Emma received her master's degree in piano and vocal performance from George Mason University in 2013, and a professional studies certificate from Manhattan School of Music in 2016. Click here to learn more.

Amy Shoremount-Obra, soprano - $1,000 special one time grant. Amy was one of the top two 2016 Singers Award recipients, see our 2016 Singers Award page.

Brooke Dircks, soprano - $1,000 encouragement grant. Brooke is a Masters student at New England Conservatory, where she studies with Jane Eaglen. She was awarded a Bertha C. and Edward Rose Scholarship as well as a presidential distinction scholarship. In 2017, she won an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in New Orleans. Click here to learn more.

Jessine Johnson, soprano - $1,000 encouragement grant. Jessine is Thousand Oaks, California, and earned her master’s degree from Juilliard School in New York. She is pursuing post-graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Stephen Carroll, tenor - $1,000 encouragement grant. Praised for his powerful, colorful singing, Stephen holds an artist diploma from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, a master's degree from University of North Texas, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware. In summer 2018, Stephen was a vocal fellow with the Ravinia Steans Music Institute. Click here to learn more.

The jury panel consisted of Ken Benson, Cori Ellison, Eve Queler,and Scott Carlton.