The KF International Marcella Sembrich International Voice

 The KF is excited to announce the winners of the 2015 Marcella
Sembrich International Voice Competition:
1st prize – Jakub Jozef Orlinski, counter-tenor;
2nd prize – Piotr Buszewski, tenor;
3rd prize – Katharine Dain, soprano;
Honorable Mention – Marcelina Beucher, soprano;
Out of 92 applicants, 37 contestants took part in the preliminary round of the competition
on Saturday, November 7th, with 9 progressing into the final round on Sunday,
November 8th at Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College.
This year's competition was evaluated by an exceptional jury:
Charles Kellis (Juilliard, Prof. emeritus) served as Chairman of the Jury, joined by
Damon Bristo (Vice President and Artist Manager at Columbia Artists Management
Inc.), Markus Beam (Artist Manager at IMG Artists) and Dr. Malgorzata Kellis who
served as a Creative Director and Polish song expert.
About the KF's Marcella Sembrich Competition:
Marcella Sembrich-Kochanska, soprano (1858-1935) was one of Poland's greatest
opera stars. She appeared during the first season of the Metropolitan Opera in 1883,
and would go on to sing in over 450 performances at the Met. Her portrait can be found
at the Metropolitan Opera House, amongst the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Placido
Domingo, and Giuseppe Verdi.
The KF's Marcella Sembrich Memorial Voice Competition honors the memory of this
great Polish artist, with the aim of popularizing Polish song in the United States, and
discovering new talents (aged 18-35) in the operatic world.
This year the competition has turned out to be very successful, considering that the
number of contestants have greatly increased and that we have now also attracted a
number of International contestants from Japan, China, South Korea, France, Canada,
Puerto Rico and Poland. The Final auditions started at 11:00am until 3:30pm.
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
From left: Dr. John Micgiel (KF President), Ewa Zadworna (KF Development), Piotr
Buszewski, tenor (2nd place), Marcelina Beucher, soprano (Honorary Mention), Jakub
Jozef Orlinski, counter-tenor (1st place), Katarzyna Koziol (KF Communications &
Cultural Events), Katharine Dain, soprano (3rd place), Prof. Charles Kellis – Chairman of
the Jury, Damon Bristo (Columbia Artists Management), Markus Beam (IMG Artists),
Dr. Malgorzta Kellis (Artistic Director), Aneta Kuczewska (Vice-Consul, Consulate
General of the Republic of Poland), Richard Wargo (Artistic Director, The Sembrich
Opera Museum)
Contact: Katarzyna Koziol at [email protected]
Photo Gallery: www.TheKF.org
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
BIOS
Charles Kellis - Chairman of the Jury
Charles Kellis is a vocal consultant, voice teacher and writer of reviews and articles on
the romance of the voice. He has been a Professor of Music at the University of Iowa,
Southern Illinois University, and for 16 years the voice faculty of the Juilliard School. He
has served as adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions and as a
teacher for the Metropolitan Lindemann Young Artists Program. His students have
appeared in leading roles in most major opera houses of the world including: the
Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Berlin, Covent Garden, Paris, Moscow, Hamburg,
Barcelona, Zurich, Bayreuth Festival, Frankfurt, Glyndeborne, Zurich, Viennna, Aix en
Provence Festival, Orange Festival, New York City Opera, Los Angeles, and Chicago
Lyric. His students have been winners in many prestigious international competitions
including: Tchaikovsky in Moscow, Cardiff Singer of the World, Metropolitan Opera,
Caruso, Maria Callas, Marion Anderson, Puccini Foundation, Sullivan Award, Joyce
Dutka, Arleen Auger, Bel Canto Vocal, the Munich International, Opera Index,
Moniuszko International in Warsaw and the Pavarotti Mozart Prize. Master classes and
seminars in Europe and USA, including at the San Juan, Puerto Ricco, Pablo Casals
Festival with Krzysztof Penderecki. He has been a judge for the Moniuszko International
Vocal Competition in Warsaw, and conducted master classes in Radom and at the
Krakow Academy of Music in Poland. He is also a reviewer at the Metropolitan Opera
for the periodocal Twoja Muza. September, 2015 brought him to China for a series of
Master Classes and as Chairman of the Lanzhou University International Vocal
Competition, with a return engagement scheduled for 2016. His book “A vocal Journey”
will be forthcoming in January 2016.
Damon Bristo – Jury
Damon Bristo is a Vice President and Artist Manager at Columbia Artists Management
Inc. During his career, he has represented many renowned artists including Isabel
Leonard, Deborah Voigt, James Morris, Dolora Zajick, and Amanda Majeski. A frequent
guest on the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast intermission Opera Quiz, he has also
been heard as a guest on WQXR’s Operavore. Mr. Bristo earned his Bachelor of Music
degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music and has conducted classes for aspiring
singers at Wolf Trap, Washington National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Los
Angeles Opera, Curtis Institute of Music, and Yale University. He has also held positions
at the Glimmerglass Festival, Seattle Opera, and Cleveland Art Song Festival.
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
Markus Beam - Juror
Markus Beam has enjoyed a multifaceted career in the arts. Currently an artist manager
at IMG Artists, Mr. Beam works with some of the world’s most established artists and
emergingtalent. Prior to his work in artist management, Mr. Beam enjoyed an extensive
career as a baritone, singing leading roles on international stages including Deutsche
Oper Berlin, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Komische Oper
Berlin, Oper Leipzig, and Theater St. Gallen Switzerland. Highlights of US engagements
include appearances with the Santa Fe Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Glimmerglass.
Dr. Malgorzata Kellis, soprano – Artistic Director
Polish American Malgorzata Kellis received her MA from the Music Academy in Krakow
and her DMA from the Academy of Music in Gdansk. She has been heard performing in
concert, opera and oratorio throughout Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Poland
and Italy. She toured throughout Germany, Austria and France with the Ricercar
Orchestra and also performed with the Silesian Orchestra, Mazowiecki Theatre
Orchestra, Camerata Polonia, Nowa Ensemble, Munchen Philharmonic, the Warsaw
Philharmonic and the Slavic Arts Ensemble. She has been featured at the Warsaw
Royal Castle and the Lancut Castle, Teatr Stu, Teatr Polonia in Warsaw, the Krakow
Opera, Silesia Opera, Mazowiecki Music Theatre, Riverside Opera, Brooklyn Opera,
Queens Opera and the Polish Theatre Institute. She toured Germany with the "Chantal"
ensemble with whom she also recorded a CD. Last summer she was heard as the first
Polish singer in recital dedicated to the memory of the famous Polish soprano Marcella
Sembrich at the Sembrich Museum in Bolton Landing, Lake George. A frequent guest at
International Music Festivals, she was a performing artist at the K.Jamroz International
Music Festival at Busko- Zdroj and most recently was honored at the opening the XXIII
International Organ and Chamber Music Festival in Lezajsk with the legendary
Metropolitan tenor, Wieslaw Ochman. She has also performed with the legendary
Simon Estes, the famous baritone Mariusz Kwiecien and Jennifer Rowely. This past
summer and fall 2015, she was heard in Washington,DC, Portland,OR, Wroclaw,Poland
and in Lanzhou, China. The coming months will bring her to the West coast to appear in
a recital in Los Angeles CA.
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
Jakub Józef Orliński, counter-tenor – 1st Prize
Jakub Józef Orliński is a native Polish counter-tenor. He graduated from The F. Chopin
University of Music in 2014 earning his Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance. During
his studies he performed vocal recitals and concerts in Poland as well as around the
world. His debut was in Warsaw in Collegium Nobillium Theatre during his freshmen
year at the university. He is a member of a prestigious program for young artists - Opera
Academy in Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa in Warsaw since 2012. In August 2015
he started studies in The Juilliard School on Graduate Diploma programme with Edith
Wiens.
He signed contracts with opera theaters in Warsaw and Białystok in Poland performing
roles of: Cupid in Venus & Adonis by J. Blow; Narciso in Agrippina by G.F. Handel. In
Germany Jakub performed role of: Ruggiero in Alcina by G. F. Handel in Aachen and in
Cottbus; H. Purcell's songs in a ballet production “Othello” in Leipzig Opera House; G.P.
Telemann's role of Philippus in Der Misslungene Braut-Wechsel oder Richardus I based
on G.F. Handel's Riccardo Primo, Re d'Inghilterra in Gießen/Germany.
Jakub participated in several competitions: Sacred Music Competition/Rome; Neue
Stimmen/Germany; Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition/Ireland; the 1
Vocal Competition/Poland, where he have got The Special Mention and The Special
Prize; Rudolf Petrák's Singing Competition/Slovakia, where he placed The First Prize;
Debut 2012 Singing Competition/Germany, where he have got The Special Prize and
the next edition of Debut 2014, where he placed The Third Prize, The 8th Mazovian
Golden Voices Competition/Poland, where he has got The 1st Special Mention; Le
Grand Prix de l'Opera in Bucharest/Romania, where he placed The Third Prize and
the Special Prize, and Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition/New York
City, where he placed The First Prize.
Jakub additionally to the singing has always been interested in expressing himself in
variety of ways. He especially enjoys dancing breakdance among other styles of dance.
His achievements include taping a video clip in Bangkok for a street wear company
CROPP; prizes in many dance competitions (The 4 th Place on The Red Bull BC One
Poland Cypher; The 2nd Place on The Stylish Strike – Top Rock Contest and The 2nd
Place on The Style Control Competition), video clips and photo shootings as a dancer,
model and also as an acrobat for many commercial companies such as: Levis; Nike;
Turbokolor; Samsung; Mercedes-Benz; MAC Cosmetics; Algida and Danon.
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
Piotr Buszewski, tenor – 2nd Prize
Tenor Piotr Buszewski, from Warsaw, Poland. He is currently studying at The Juilliard
School in New York, studying with Dr. Robert C. White. Ms. Buszewski is also a
member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Opera Studio in Rome, under the
direction of Renata Scotto.
Last year, Mr. Buszewski won a second prize in The 2015 Hal Leonard Vocal
Competition. He also appeared as Rinuccio in “Gianni Schicchi” by G. Puccini during
The Trentino Music Festival in Italy along with making his debut in the Alice Tully Hall in
New York.
He has honed his vocal skills under guidance of such notables as Renata Scotto,
Deborah Voigt and Bernd Weikl.
Katharine Dain, soprano – 3rd Prize
American soprano Katharine Dain, acclaimed for "thrilling," "heart-piercing"
performances, has performed in Europe and North American with companies including
the Dutch National Opera, Operadagen Rotterdam, Gotham Chamber Opera, Opera
Company of Philadelphia, Opera Omnia, the Center for Contemporary Opera, and Ash
Lawn Opera; on festivals including the Holland Festival, West Cork Chamber Music
Festival, Ravinia Festival, and the New York Festival of Song; as soprano soloist with
organizations such as Asko|Schönberg, Alexandria Symphony, Springfield Symphony,
American Symphony Orchestra, Collegiate & Masterwork Chorales, the New York City
Ballet, and the Mark Morris Dance Group; and in venues including New York's Carnegie
Hall and Lincoln Center, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, and Vienna's Musikverein. She
currently lives in the Netherlands.
Marcelina Beucher, soprano – Honorable Mention
She was born in 1986, and she began her music education as a cellist at the Karol
Szymanowski School of Music in Wroclaw (class of prof. Feliks Tatarczyk).
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
She studied at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wroclaw in her mother's class prof. Maria Czechowska-Królicka, and graduated from the Academy with a special
distinction. In 2012 she spent one year in Riga (Latvia) in prof. Lilija Greidane’s class in
frame of Erasmus study programe. Since 2013 she has been a PhD student at the
Academy of Music in Wroclaw.
She has won prizes in many national and international competitions, such as:
- 44th National Competition for Young Musicians - Karol Kurpiński’s Songs and Arias
Competition in Wloszakowice, Poland in 2011 (Special Prize),
- 2nd Academic Art Song Competition in Wroclaw, Poland in 2011 (Special Prize),
- "Beatrice" International Vocal Competition in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2011 (Special Prize),
- 3rd Adam Didur International Competition in Bytom, Poland 2012 (Special Award),
- 16th International Vocal Competition Hariclea Darclée in Braila, Romania in 2012
(Foundation Darclée Prize),
- 1st Andrzej Hiolski International Vocal Competition in Kudowa Zdroj, Poland in 2012
(Finalist),
- Musica Sacra International Vocal Competition in Roma in 2012 (Prize Oratorio),
- 6th Halina Halska-Fijałkowska International Vocal Competition in Wroclaw, Poland in
2013 (Second Prize),
- Competition "I love Mozart", Musical Theatre in Poznan, Poland in 2013 (First Prize).
- 50th International Vocal Competition 's Hertogenbosch, Netherlands in
2014(Laureate).
- I. International Eva Marton Singing Competition, Hungary in 2014 (3rd Prize and three
Special Prizes).
- 4th International Jazeps Vitols Singing Competition, Latvia in 2015 (First Prize).
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067
The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center of Polish Culture
New York City Office: 15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, tel: (212) 734-2130, fax: (212) 628-4552
Washington D.C. Office: 2025 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5913, tel: (202) 785-2320
Warsaw, Poland Office: ul. Dobra 56/66, BUW, 00-312 Warszawa Phone/Fax: 011 (4822) 621 7067