Nebraska vocalists recognized at Hal Leonard vocal competition

Clockwise from upper left:  Brittany Albin, Liza Piccoli, Victoria Handford, Dakota Mathew, Matthew Carter and Abby Kurth.
Clockwise from upper left: Brittany Albin, Liza Piccoli, Victoria Handford, Dakota Mathew, Matthew Carter and Abby Kurth.

Nebraska vocalists recognized at Hal Leonard vocal competition

calendar icon07 Apr 2017    

Lincoln, Neb.--Six vocalists from the Glenn Korff School of Music won recognition recently in music publisher Hal Leonard's 2017 North American Vocal Competition.

Competing in the All Collegiate Musical Theatre Category:

2nd Place:  Liza Piccoli (B.M. freshman from Lincoln, Nebraska)
Honorable Mention:  Matthew Carter (B.M. freshman from Kearney, Nebraska)
Finalists:  Abby Kurth (B.A. junior from Bettendorf, Iowa) & Dakota Mathew (B.M.E. freshman from Harrisonville, Missouri)
Semi-finalists:  Brittany Albin (B.A. senior from Norfolk, Nebraska) and Victoria Handford (B.A. sophomore from Kansas City, Missouri).

Accompanying them was pianist Denis Plutalov. Otto Gaiser filmed their auditions.

“After making the students’ participation in the North American vocal competition optional, I was so pleased for the students who chose to do the extra work to enter,” said Coordinator of Musical Theatre Studies Alisa Belflower. “This year UNL students won 24% of the recognition awarded in the competition, while competing with older college students from many other prestigious universities. These students are proof that the Glenn Korff School of Music is where young artists are nurtured and trained to internationally competitive standards.”

Belflower said UNL students have won recognition at this competition in six of the seven years since the competition began—every year that they have entered. They did not compete in the inaugural year of the competition.

Hal Leonard, the world’s largest print music publisher, launched the innovative concept of a serious music competition for voice students, comprised entirely of YouTube video entries, in 2011. More than 1,000 entries were received in eight categories in this year’s competition.