Last modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2002
IU master's candidate earns first prize in opera competition
Indiana University master's degree candidate Twyla Robinson took home first place and a cash prize of $15,500 in the professional division of the MacAllister Awards competition, which was held Sunday (Aug. 25) at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis.
This is the second major competition that Robinson has won this year. In April, she was named a grand finalist in the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. This fall, Robinson will return to New York to make her New York City Opera debut as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.
IU alumna Kristine Winkler and IU master's degree candidate Heidi Vanderford also placed in the professional division of the MacAllister competition. Winkler, a 2001 Metropolitan Opera grand finalist, earned $3,000 (which includes a special $1,500 prize), and Vanderford won $1,000. Robinson, Winkler and Vanderford are all students of IU voice professor Costanza Cuccaro.
Now in its 22nd year, the MacAllister Awards are held annually and attract more than 800 singers each year. The competition is named for P.E. MacAllister, an Indianapolis businessman and philanthropist who serves as president of the Indiana Opera Theatre. The competition consists of three divisions including professional, collegiate and youth categories. Other IU-trained singers who have won this competition include Nova Thomas (M.M.81) in 1980; Michael Sylvester (M.M.78) in 1986; Emily Magee (M.M.97) in 1994; and Kyle Ketelsen (post-graduate studies 95) in 1999.
For more information, visit https://www.macallisterawards.com.
