Young Voices NW Competition Open

2025 Portland Opera Guild Young Voices Competition Winners: THIRD PRIZE Makayah Bernal, Soprano, 20; AUDIENCE FAVORITE Ori Marcu, Mezzo Soprano, 25; and, SECOND PRIZE McKayla Sherman, Soprano, 24. All three winners performed for the Guild’s Spring Luncheon & Annual Meeting at the Waverley Country Club in Portland.

The Portland Opera Guild (POG) is the longest tenured organization of advocacy for the artform of opera in the State of Oregon. As part of its mission, Young Voices Northwest Competition was created in 2025 to nurture the next generation of professional opera singer talent and positively influence the embedded cultural capital of the region. The 2026 Competition Finalists will perform on Sunday, October 18, 2026, 1-5 pm in the Portland State Unviersity Lincoln Recital Hall and compete for $5,000 in prize money.

  • Milestone dates are:

    • APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, September 14, 2026

    • NOTIFICATION to APPLICANTS for FINALISTS: Friday, September 18, 2026

In addition to the prize associated with each category, the winners will perform at the Guild’s Spring 2027 Luncheon & Annual Meeting.

MORE INFORMATION on the 2026 Competition (including how to enter) is located HERE.

POG Premieres Young Voices Competition

In celebration of its 65th year, the Portland Opera Guild (POG) announced a new strategic initiative within its portfolio of programs to nurture the next generation of professional opera singer talent.  Young Voices Northwest Competition, to be held October 12, 2025, is a celebration to further position the state has an incubator for artistic talent with the intention of showcasing the region to emerging operatic voices as hub and place to call home.

“We wanted to develop something purely localized,” said Jutta Allen, POG Board President.  “Other competitions draw from a circuit of qualified applicants – and this will highlight the best of our region as a way to support the cultural capital as the arts are at the core of any civilized society.”

Adjudicators for the competition include: Clare Burovac, former General and Artistic Director of New Orleans Opera; Alexis Hamilton, manager of education and community engagement with the Portland Opera; and, Peter Jacoby, renowned music director.  The organizing committee from POG’s board includes Allen, who was former Oregon district director for the Metropolitan Opera National Council (now Laffont) Auditions; Leslie Robinson, retired lighting and stage director; Christine Meadows, former head of opera studies at Portland State University; and Arts Patron Leonore Licht-Miller.

POG’s Board of Directors made the decision to invest in the competition in 2025 as a way to strengthen the footprint of the artform within the community.  Applicant criteria for the competition includes residency or attending school in either Oregon or Washington with an age range of 20 to 26.  An application screening fee of $45 will narrow the group of competitors for $5,000 in total prize money to 18-25 finalists who will perform before a panel of adjudicators and audience.

Applications are due Monday, September 8; finalists will be notified by Monday, September 15; and, the competition will be held at Portland State University’s Lincoln Recital Hall on Sunday, October 12.  Tickets for the competition will be open to the public at a cost of $10 per person and will be available to purchase in September and also at the door.

“This is an exciting way to put Portland on the map as a destination for artistic talent,” noted POG Vice-President Christine Meadows.  “We are thrilled with the concept and expect that the investment in the arts will help enhance the reputation of the city as a place for artists to thrive.”

POG is securing additional funding for the competition as part of its community outreach.  Opera Volunteers International has committed funding through its matching grant program and several private donations have been secured.  Underwriting is a key to the success of the competition for a sustainable future and POG is seeking $250,000 to endow the competition while accepting contributions for seed funding.  Contributions can be made through a variety methods by contacting a POG Board Member or via the website located at www.portlandoperaguild.com/donate.

Please visit the Young Voices Northwest Competition page for additional details.

Founded in 1960 by a group of philanthropic women dedicated to supporting opera in Portland and all of Oregon, Portland Opera Guild has evolved into an organization that generously supports the work of the association, and also has a portfolio of unique responsibilities and events which it manages for the Guild’s expanded and diverse membership.  Its mission is “to stimulate interest and participation in opera fo the benefit of cultural, educational, and musical life in all of Oregon.”