Competition Judges

Preliminary Competition Judges, March 2, 2013

Jonathan Beyer, baritone, has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Teatro Petruzelli, Pittsburgh Opera, Hong Kong Opera, Opera Frankfurt and many others.  His roles have included Figaro in il Barbiere di Siviglia, Escamillo in Carmen and Lescaut in Manon.

Mr. Beyer was a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition in 2011.  Among other awards, he was Grand Prize winner at the 2011 George London Foundation and was the 1st place winner of the Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists.

Danielle Munsell Howard, soprano, has been praised by for her "bright, pretty timbre and remarkable faciliity."  Her repertoire ranges from Bach to Stravinsky.  In 2005, her New York debut as Prince Meleagro in La Corona at Merkin Hall was enthusiastically received by the full house audience and critically acclaimed by the New York Time.  Internationally, she has sung in concerts in Germany, Austria, France, Mexico and the Netherlands.  She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two sons.

Ben Malensek, vocal coach and pianist, recently celebrated his 25th year on the music staff at Opera Theatre of St. Louis where he has prepared singers in over 50 productions.  He was Head of Music Staff at Dallas Opera for eleven seasons in addition to working at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera and Wolf Trap Opera.  In Europe, he was a member of the Opera Intenationales Opern Studio.  He has degrees from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.  He lives in New York City.

Final Competition Judges, March 16, 2013

Linda DiFiore, mezzo-soprano, has performed professionally for over thirty-five years as a soloist in opera, oratorio, recital and musical theatre. She has performed throughout the United States and has sung in Innesbruck, Rome, Venice, Cremona, Mantua and San Juan. Dr. DiFiore teaches French, German, Italian and English diction to vocal students at the University of Northern Texas. Master classes she has taught include those at Eastman School of Music, Vanderbuilt University, Columbia University and Kansas City Lyric Opera. She holds the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance from the University of Minnesota.

Lynn Eustis, soprano, appears regularly as a soloist with numerous professional organizations such as the Dallas Bach Society, the Fort Worth Symphony, Texas Ballet Theater and the AExxus Vocal Ensemble (NY),  She has been heard internationally with the Americke Jaro Festival (Czech Republic), the Compania Lirica Nacional (Costa Rica) and Guangzhou Symphony (China). She has sung over thirty operatic roles.  In 2010, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart's Vesperae de Dominica. Dr. Eustis is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Florida State University and Bucknell University. She is a native of Long Island, New York.

Mark Morash is a conductor and pianist originally from Halifax, Canada. He currently serves at the Director of Musical Studies for San Francisco Opera Center. His work there has included such varied repertoire as Cossi fan tutti, Die Fledermaus, the Merry Wives of Windsor, Donizetti's Rita, Pasatieri's the Seagull, Perigolesi's La Serva Padrona and Ibert's Angelique. Morash has also been involved with the Opera Center of Pittsburgh Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, the Banff Centre and Hawaii Opera Theater.  He is a former faculty member of University of the Toronto.

Competition Accompanist:

Robert Spillman, Professor Emeritus of the University of Colorado at Boulder, was chair of the Keyboard Department and Music Director of the opera program.  He received degrees in piano and theory from the Eastman School of Music.  He lived in Germany first as a Fulbright Scholar and later as an accompanist for such artists as Rita Streich and Barry McDaniel. 

Competiton Stand-In Judge:

John Baril, a versatile conductor, has led critically acclaimed performances of symphonic and choral music, ballet, opera, operetta and musical theater.  He has collaborated with such artists as conductor Stephen Lord, soprano/director Catherine Malfitano, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves among others. For the past twelve seasons, he has worked closely with the apprentice and studio artists in the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program at the Central City Opera Festival. Last season he worked with Opera Colorado and conducted the Marriage of Figaro.

Past Judges