© Bayreuther Festspiele, Meistersinger 2018

News from the Members

11.12.2017
News from New York
WSNY announces the recipients of its annual awards and grants, along with its congratulations to director Yuval Sharon on receiving a "genius grant".
Annual Society Awards and Grants to Promising Wagner Singers

As a result of its annual auditions, the WSNY is pleased to announce this year’s recipients. They (and all recipients since 2011) are listed on the WSNY website/Singers Awards.


The awards are funded by the Society’s endowment funds and grants are funded by member contributions.

Nota bene: Stephen Gould, an internationally praised heldentenor, was the recipient of a Society grant some years ago. 

Suzanne Hendrix, mezzo - Robert Lauch Award in the amount of $6,000
David Leigh, bass - Ursula Springer Award in the amount of $3,000
Carami Hilaire, soprano - $2,000 encouragement grant
Emma McDermott, soprano - $1,000 encouragement grant
Amy Shoremount-Obra, soprano - $1,000 special one time grant 
Brooke Dircks, soprano - $1,000 encouragement grant
Jessine Johnson, soprano - $1,000 encouragement grant 
Stephen Carroll, tenor  - $1,000 encouragement grant

Congratulations to Yuval Sharon


Photo Katerina Goode

The Wagner Society of New York congratulates Yuval Sharon, who was named a MacArthur Fellow in October as a recipient of a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, with 23 others in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The award comes with a no-strings-attached $625,000 purse. The first American director in the history of the Bayreuth Festival, he will direct the new production of Lohengrin in 2018. His first visit to Bayreuth was as a member of the WSNY in 2006 while living in New York.