Oratorio Society hosting annual Vocal Scholarship Competition
BURNT HILLS, N.Y. » Registration is now open for the 24th annual Vocal Scholarship Competition, hosted by the Burnt Hills Oratorio Society (BHOS) under the direction of Dr. William Jon Gray.
The competition is open to high school seniors and is intended to “to facilitate the continued study of singing in college.”
Two winners will be chosen. First place will receive a $1500 scholarship, and the runner up will receive a $1000 scholarship. Both funds will be directly forwarded to the colleges the winners will be attending, in the students’ names. The Scholarship Program is fundamental to BHOS’s community outreach endeavors. The top two competitors will also have an opportunity to sing in a BHOS concert.
“This is a competition for accomplished singers,” said Doug Davis, with the BHOS Board of Directors. “Last year, despite the pandemic, we had what I think were our most talented competitors ever. The winner had a perfect score, the runner up was separated from him by only half a point, and all of the competitors scored over 20 (out of 24) points.”
The competition will be held June 18 at St. Clements Church in Saratoga Springs, at 231 Lake Ave. Due to the ongoing pandemic, there will not be a reception for competitors. After performing, students are free to go. Winners will be notified later.
“St. Clements has a great protocol in place for COVID, and it works really well for our competition,” said Davis.
The competition will be judged by two adjudicators who are professionals in the school music industry. Frequently, they are people who have spent many years as music teachers. Last year, the competition was judged by Brenda and Jeffrey L. Vredenburg.
Last year’s winners were Zachary Simpson from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School (first place) and Alexa Rahman from Saratoga Springs High School (second place). Simpson planned to attend Syracuse University and Rahman planned to attend Ithaca College.