Pinoy wins People’s Choice award for vocals in LA contest
A Filipino has won the People’s Choice award in the vocalist category in a classical music competition in Los Angeles.
Rodell Rosel, 32, a native of the Philippines who has studied at Sta. Monica College and the University of California at Los Angeles, won $3,000 for being the people’s choice in the vocal competition of the weeklong Jose Iturbi International Music Competition for classical pianists and vocalists.
More than $250,000 in prizes were awarded Sunday at the conclusion of the second annual contest, held at UCLA and featuring musicians from around the globe.
Top prizes of $50,000 went to soprano Angela Meade, 30, a resident artist at Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, and pianist Mariya Kim, 26, of Ukraine and Germany. Kim also shared the $3,000 Spanish Prize.
The competition’s sponsor, the Jose Iturbi Foundation, is named for the renowned concert pianist who appeared in several MGM musicals in the 1940s. It is dedicated to preserving Iturbi’s legacy and to fulfilling his desire to bring emerging classical pianists and vocalists to the public’s attention.
“The talent of this year’s competitors was staggering,” said Donelle Dadigan, the foundation’s president. “Interest in the final rounds was so intense that hundreds of people lined up in hope there would be last minute cancellations.”
The $3,000 People’s Choice award for piano was given to Chetan Tierra, 24, a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
In addition to their $50,000 in first-place prize money, Meade and Kim will perform during a cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2 next April.
No Comments
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment