Vocal Competition 2026

1. The application is open to all classical singers between the ages of 22-33 as of April 11, 2026, who reside in the United States. 8 Finalists and the winner of the Courtney B. Vance Chevalier Award will be invited to compete on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Pasadena, CA in a live concert format. Up to 4 additional Career Grants will be awarded, but recipients will not be invited to perform at the Final Round. 8 finalists, the Chevalier Award winner and Career Grant recipients will be determined by video submission only.
2. New for this year: The PVC will not hold a live, semi-final round.
3. All applicants must be available to perform on Saturday, April 11, without exception. Do not apply if you are not available for the April 11, 2026 final round. Out of town performers will
   need to arrive to Pasadena, CA on Friday, April 10. Applicants will be notified of acceptance to the Final Round no later than March 1, 2026.
4. Transportation arrangements for finalists and Courtney B Vance Chevalier Award will be the sole responsibility of the applicant. However, 2 nights of either a hotel room or private home
   stay will be provided for all out-of-town finalists and Courtney B Vance Chevalier Award winner
   as well as up to $350 for travel reimbursement. (Travel receipts will be required).
5. Repertoire Requirement of 4 selections: all selections must be sung in the original language of composition.
   a.         One Italian aria
   b.         One English aria
   c.         One aria not in Italian or English
   d.         One Musical Theater Standard or a song from the Great American Songbook. We
   suggest a song by I. Berlin, G. Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein or any standard Musical
   Theater Composer.  We will also accept any operatic parody song such as ‘The Girl in 14 G’, ‘I’m glad I’m not a tenor’ or ‘Sexy Lady’ by Ben Moore. *Please contact our Artistic Director with
   ANY questions about repertoire for this final selection.  Please note that we are looking for a
   song and not an aria, and therefore Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ will not fulfill this requirement.
6. All applicants are required to submit 2 videos only. It is not a requirement to submit an Aria by a composer of the African Diaspora. Songs within operas will be considered acceptable entries because they are considered musical numbers within an opera. However, ART SONGS will not be considered, the entry must come from an Opera.
7. All singers, regardless of ethnic identification are encouraged to submit an aria by a composer of the African Diaspora. We at the PVC are committed to educating audiences about the history of the Chevalier de Saint Georges, who was a composer of African ancestry whose historical significance has been marginalized; we therefore encourage all applicants to explore
   arias from his operas but also those of other composers, including, but not limited to: Scott Joplin, Terrence Blanchard, Nkeiru Okoye, Anthony Davis, William Grant Still, Francis Johnson and Johanny Navarro.
8. ALL EIGHT FINALISTS will perform a foreign language aria, an English aria and the Musical Theater selection in the Final Round. * Please note that a time limit of 12 minutes for all three selections will be in effect for this year. Please plan accordingly; take all possible cuts in arias and try to submit a shorter musical theater selection.
9. You will be asked to attach your current headshot, resume, bio.
10. Rights to any Competition performance, whether broadcast, televised, recorded or filmed, belong to the Competition. No fee is payable on account of these performances or any recordings, broadcasts, transmissions or film.
11. ALL decisions of the judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding their decisions.

Any questions about repertoire, please reach out to Catherine Miller, Artistic Director.  [email protected] or Mona Lands, Applications Director
[email protected].