2026 Washington International Competition for Voice

Announcing the winners of the 2026 Competition for Voice

First prize, $10,000, in honor of Thomas Beveridge:

Michelle Mariposa, mezzo-soprano (Philippines)

Second prize, $5,000, Norman & Joan Sugarman Award:

Carolina Sullivan, soprano (USA)

Third prize, $3,000, Ben Holt Memorial Award:

Minki Hong, baritone (South Korea)

Audience prize, $1,000 each, Viola Musher & Amelia Stieglitz Wishner Award:

Lauryn Davis, soprano (USA)
Carolina Sullivan, soprano (USA)

Finalist prizes, $1,000 each, Adele Woolsey Memorial Award:

Lauryn Davis, soprano (USA)
Yuxin Liu, soprano (China)
Sarah Rosales (USA)

Our deepest thanks to all the competitors, jury members, volunteers and audience members who made the weekend such a great success!

Dates and Information

The 2026 Washington International Competition (WIC) for Voice is open for applications. From September 15, 2025 through February 15, 2026, young artists ages 18 to 32 (as of May 23, 2026) may submit applications to compete in the Preliminary Round of the competition via app.getacceptd.com/wic.

Semifinals: Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 9:00am

• Semifinals will take place at George Washington University’s Phillips Hall (lower level) at 801 22nd Street, NW in Washington, D.C.

Finals: Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 2:00pm

• Finalists will perform in the Harris Theatre at George Mason University, 4471 Aquia Creek Lane, Fairfax, VA
• Audience will be able to vote for the Audience Prize!

2026 WIC for Voice  Judges

• Tony Arnold, soprano
• Nicholas Phan, tenor
• Karen Slack, soprano

Prizes & Performance Awards

• $22,000 in total prizes!
• Winners are eligible for Performance Awards of solo appearance opportunities in the Washington, DC area, including an appearance with the FMMC Avanti Orchestra.

No Application Fee for 2026!

In celebration of the 25^th occurrence of the Washington International Competition for Voice, the members of the board of the Friday Morning Music Club Foundation have generously donated funding to allow the 2026 competion to be offered with no application fee.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 32 as of May 23, 2026.
• Proof of age will be required.
• Singers of all nationalities are welcome and encouraged to apply.
• Applicants must not be under professional management.
• Previous first-prize winners of the competition may not apply.
• Current students of any of the judges may not apply.

Required Repertoire

All works must be performed from memory at all stages of the competition. The same repertoire list must be used for the application and live competition rounds.

1. Four contrasting arias, selected from opera or oratorio.
2. Nine art songs, meeting the following requirements:

• • Art songs in English, French and German must be included.
  • At least two art songs must be by an American composer.
  • Composed settings of folk songs or spirituals are permitted.

Musical theater selections are not permitted for any category.

Repertoire must include at least one work composed after 1975.
Repertoire must include at least one work by a composer from one of the following historically underrepresented demographics: Women; Black; of Asian, Middle Eastern, Native American or Latino/a (originating from Latin America) heritage.
The same work may be used to meet both of these requirements.

Application Video

All applicants must submit video recordings of a maximum of 25 minutes total for the preliminary round. The music for the video submissions must be chosen from your required repertoire selections above. Each work must be recorded with one camera in a single, unedited take. The music selected for the recordings should present a representative sample of the applicant’s abilities and strengths. Note: The deadline for preliminary round application submissions is February 15, 2026, by 11:59 pm EST.

Works recorded for the application must include:

• • Works in at least 3 languages
  • At least one example from both the aria and art song categories
  • A work by an American composer

A list of format and other video instructions can be found on Acceptd’s HelpDesk.

Acceptable File Types:

• Video: MP4, MPEG, MPG, MOV, AVI, WMV, M4V, FLV, WEBM, MKV, M2V
• Maximum video file size per media file: 4 GB

IMPORTANT

• DO NOT include any identifying information for yourself or your school in the videos or the titles of the video files.
• All submitted video selections must come from the submitted repertoire list.
• No changes to repertoire will be allowed after the application is finalized.
• Applicants must be prepared to present all repertoire on their list if chosen to participate in the semifinals.

Regulations and Instructions

1. 1. All selections must be performed from memory, both on the video and in the live auditions.
   2. No changes to submitted applications will be permitted past the deadline date of February 15, 2026, 11:59 EST.
   3. Contestants should be prepared to perform all submitted repertoire in its entirety for the semifinal and final rounds.
   4. Repertoire for the preliminary round MUST be the same for the semifinal and final rounds.
   5. A separate preliminary round jury will review submissions and select approximately 15 semifinalists.
   6. All applicants will be notified of the results by the end of March 2026.
   7. Selected semifinalists will be sent further instructions after the results of the preliminary round have been made public. They will be invited to compete in Washington, DC on May 23, 2026. Semifinalists will be offered housing and transportation.

Additional Information

1. FMMC Foundation assumes no responsibility for actions of or injuries sustained by applicants or their escorts during their course of stay in the Washington, DC area.
2. All contestants are responsible for transportation to and from Washington, DC.
3. The decision of the judges is final and not to be disputed. No contact with the judges is permitted until after the results have been announced.
4. The WIC reserves the right to use any recordings or photographs originated during the competitions, or any photographs or recordings provided by the contestants.

Questions

• For repertoire and general questions, please contact Competition Chair Trudi Benford or Assistant Chair Yuri Chayama at wicvoice@fmmc.org.
• For technical questions please contact the Acceptd Support Team at support@getacceptd.com or by calling 1-888-725-2122. Check out the Help Desk for frequently asked questions.