Long before our first meeting I had heard, of course, what a formidable singing actor George London was. That meeting occured backstage, after I had sung in a competition. What I discovered that day, and on subsequent occasions, was a man of rare understanding, compassion and wisdom, all of which he imparted to people he came in contact with.
- Catherine Malfitano

2009 COMPETITION WINNERS

Winners of the 2009 George London Foundation Awards Competition: Left to right: Arthur Espiritu*, Sean Panikkar*, Michael Anthony McGee, Heidi Melton*, Daveda Karanas, Yannick-Muriel Noah*, Marjorie Owens*, Emily Duncan-Brown, Simone Osborne, Nadine Sierra, Layla Claire, Jordan Bisch, Amanda Majeski*, and Jason Coffey. (Those marked with an asterisk are George London Award winners; all others are George London Encouragement Award Winners.) [photo by Shawn Ehlers]

$74,000 IN PRIZES AWARDED

THE GEORGE LONDON AWARD WINNERS: $10,000 EACH

• ARTHUR ESPIRITU, tenor - George London Award
• AMANDA MAJESKI, soprano - George London Award in memory of Lloyd Rigler
• HEIDI MELTON, soprano - George London/Kirsten Flagstad Memorial Award, sponsored by the New York Community Trust
• YANNICK-MURIEL NOAH, soprano - George London Award for a Canadian singer, sponsored by Liliane and Robert Brochu
• MARJORIE OWENS, soprano - George London/Leonie Rysanek Award
• SEAN PANIKKAR, tenor - George London Award in memory of Lise Seligmann, sponsored by the Herbert J. Seligmann Charitable Trust

THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD WINNERS: $1,000 EACH

• JORDAN BISCH, bass
• LAYLA CLAIRE, soprano (Encouragement Award given to a Canadian singer)
• JASON COFFEY, baritone - Robert Jacobson Memorial Award
• EMILY DUNCAN-BROWN, soprano
• DAVEDA KARANAS, mezzo-soprano
• MICHAEL ANTHONY MCGEE, baritone
• SIMONE OSBORNE, soprano (in memory of Norma Newton)
• NADINE SIERRA, soprano

GEORGE LONDON FOUNDATION HONORABLE MENTIONS ($500 each)

• DOMINIC ARMSTRONG, tenor
• LIAM BONNER, baritone
• JONATHAN CARLE, baritone
• GINGER COSTA-JACKSON, mezzo-soprano
• AUDREY DUBOIS, soprano
• EVE GIGLIOTTI, mezzo-soprano
• WALLIS GIUNTA, mezzo-soprano
• SHARLEEN JOYNT, soprano
• MICHAEL MAYES, baritone
• EDWARD PARKS, baritone
• NOAH STEWART, tenor
• CORINNE WINTERS, soprano

The distinguished members of the jury for the 2009 competition were Harolyn Blackwell, Bruce Donnell, Rosalind Elias, Ernst Ludwig Gausmann, Alfred Hubay, Nora London, and George Shirley. Jonathan Kelly was the pianist.

The Finals took place on Friday, March 20 in The Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue.