Audrey Tromp Takes Top Prize at Schmidt Vocal Arts Illinois Regional

Audrey Tromp, a student at Lyons Township High School in Brookfield, Ill., won first place and $2,500 at the Schmidt Vocal Arts Illinois Regional Competition, held Oct. 4 at Northwestern University in Evanston. She now advances to the National Competition at Sarasota Opera in June 2027.

Not a bad weekend for a high schooler.

Zach Heise of Oakton, Va., took second place and $2,000. Belle Thommen of Elgin, Ill., a student at Interlochen Arts Academy, took third and $1,500. All three prizewinners advance to Sarasota and may apply for need-based college scholarships from Schmidt Vocal Arts — the kind of money that quietly shapes a young singer's next decade.

Who else placed?

The jury selected 10 singers for the final round, each receiving $500. The other seven finalists were:

• Ellery Badros
• Braeden Cox
• Kai Hanna
• Sophia Kaushik
• Luna Kup
• Mia Shepel
• Sora Williams

Before the final round, three singers took part in a master class with the judges. Zhen Xu, Ivy Park and Viraj Tathavadekar received Encouragement Awards. Abigail Farrar received the Broadway Bound Award. Raegan Smith received the Most Promising Sophomore Award. Each carried a $250 prize.

Who judged?

The jury consisted of mezzo-soprano Karen Brunssen, co-chair of Northwestern's Department of Music Performance; baritone Andrew Ryker, professor of voice at Georgia State University; and mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, former Distinguished Rudy Professor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

That is a serious panel for a regional round. Mezzo-soprano (a female voice type with a range between soprano and contralto), baritone (a male voice between tenor and bass) — the field's standard taxonomy, applied here to the people holding the score sheets.

For comparison: the $500 guaranteed to each finalist exceeds what many regional competitions pay their third-place finishers. Schmidt Vocal Arts, by structure, rewards depth of field as well as podium finishes.

The road now runs through Sarasota, where the national finals in June 2027 will gather regional winners from across the country. Tromp, Heise and Thommen have 20 months to prepare. Given the judges they just faced, that time will not be idle.

By Daniel Okafor