Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026
Grades 9 through 12
Registration: $35
Registration Ends: January 18, 2026
Registration:
Due Date: January 18, 2026
General Information:
*ALL QUESTIONS/COMMENTS SHOULD COME FROM TEACHERS ONLY: Email competition@azmusicfest.org*
Parents and students are not allowed to contact Musicfest staff to discuss any portion of the competition.
Teachers should take time to review all of the current Guidelines, and go over these Guidelines with the participating students and their parents.
- Performers must complete the application and submit the registration fee in order to perform. Early application is advised. It is possible that all available slots for performers will be filled before application deadline.
- The application must include the complete and accurate titles of the pieces to be performed, along with the full composer names, opus/catalog numbers (if applicable), movement designations (if applicable), and key signatures (if applicable).
- Performers must be Arizona residents.
- Performers must be in grades 9 through 12, no younger than 14 (acceptable if student is turning 14 within the school year) and no older than 18 years of age.
- Conflicts may be submitted in the application form’s comments section, but Arizona Musicfest does not guarantee that we will be able to accommodate all conflicts. No conflicts will be accepted after the application deadline.
- To edit your application information after submission, please return to the original confirmation email you received and follow the instructions in that email. No changes are allowed after the application deadline.
- No application refunds will be given in the event of performer withdrawal.
- Each teacher and performer must abide by all requirements and deadlines stated herein. Non-compliance will result in disqualification.
- Performers MUST PROVIDE THEIR OWN PIANISTS
Date & Time:
- The Competition will be held on ________
- The times in the table below are the estimated window for each division.
- Divisions may begin earlier or later depending on the number of entrants
- Exact performance timeslots will be emailed out the week following the application due date.
- Performers may only perform during their division’s window
- The times in the table below are the estimated window for each division.
Divisions:
| Division | Number of Pieces | Warm-Up Duration | Performance Duration |
| I (Grades 9+10) – Sun. | 2 | 7 minutes | 7 minutes |
| II (Grades 11+12) – Sat. | 2 | 7 minutes | 7 minutes |
Music:
- Performers must perform two contrasting selections:
- One selection from classical repertoire and one selection from musical theatre repertoire.
OR
- Two contrasting selections from classical repertoire.
OR
- Two contrasting selections from musical theatre repertoire.
- All selections must be memorized.
- Both selections will be performed in the order of the performer’s choice.
- Performers will “slate” – give their name and the names of the pieces that they will be performing in order of performance.
- If the performer’s piece(s) exceed the length of the allotted competition time, please note the judges may stop a performance in order to stay on schedule, with no penalty to the performer.
- Performers must provide three total copies of their score(s):
- Score(s) must have measures numbered and cuts marked (if any) so the judges can use them as a reference during the performance.
Accompaniment:
- Pieces for voice and piano must be performed with accompaniment.
- Performers must provide their own live accompanist. No tracks of any kind will be allowed.
Dress Code:
Appropriate concert attire is required for both the Competition and the Winners Recital. This may include dresses (knee-level or longer), button-down shirts, slacks or dress trousers, and dress shoes; optional attire: sport coats, ties, or suits.
No jeans, sweatpants or sweatshirts, sneakers, gym attire, tennis shoes, flip flops, boat shoes, or platform shoes with a sole greater than 1/2 inch. All apparel must be modest and non-revealing. Hair should not hide a performer’s face. Please do not wear clothing that will detract from the performance or the dignity of the event.
Location:
The competition will be held at Arizona Musicfest: 7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy. Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Prizes:
- Up to three performers from each Division may be awarded cash prizes in the amounts detailed below.
- Awarded performers may be invited to perform in the Young Musicians Concert Series in the MIM Music Theater.
- Awarded performers may receive additional performance opportunities as they become available.
Division First Prize Second Prize Third Prize I (Grades 9 & 10) $350 $200 $100 II (Grades 11 & 12) $450 $350 $200
Adjudication:
- Judges will stop performers if their performance exceeds the competition time limit. There is no penalty if a performer needs to be stopped for this reason.
- Judges may elect to award Honorable Mentions to performers demonstrating high levels of artistry in their performances.
- Judges have the option to withhold prizes.
- All teachers will receive judges’ comments within a week of the adjudication date.
- Musicfest’s competitions do not have a prescribed scoring system, and thus require that all judges hear all the competition participants to allow for proper verbal deliberation and a fair outcome. Since selective recusal is not allowed, by agreeing to be on this jury panel, the judges agree that they will not submit their own students as competitors. Furthermore, performers are ineligible to participate if they or their principal teacher have a familial relationship with a judge.
- The judges have full discretion over awarding decisions, which are final and cannot be challenged.
Getting Here
Community Room at Arizona Musicfest
7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Directions
7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy
7950 E Thompson Peak Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85255, USA
Adjudication Panel
Leia Wasbotten
Whether on stage or in the classroom, Leia has found a multitude of avenues to express her love for music and for people.
Leia received her Doctor of Musical Arts from Arizona State University (ASU) where she focused her research on contemporary vocal pedagogy. Her dissertation, “Classical to Contemporary: The Evolution of Classical Vocal Pedagogy in a Contemporary Studio” reviews vocal pedagogy from the Western Classical canon, and translates that vocal health to the genres of pop, gospel, country, music theatre, and jazz. This paper contains vocal warmups geared towards various genres, repertoire lists and analysis for teachers and students to feel more confident choosing songs in multiple styles, and a deeper analysis of specific songs and how one can teach/learn to sing them. Her writing also focuses on vocal stylizations in the contemporary realm, such as vocal agility (riffs/runs), and vocal improvisation.
Her Masters in Music, also from ASU, focused on classical and musical theatre vocal performance. Her research in her masters dove into choral singing, specifically vibrato when related to solo classical literature versus choral literature, and the healthy ways to be able to switch between both genres. She holds her Bachelor of Arts degree from The Pennsylvania State University.
A private vocal coach for about a decade, Leia has assisted her students towards successes in regional, community, and professional music theatre auditions, college music theatre and classical voice programs, Carnegie Hall Honors Choir performances, regional and state choir auditions, and NATS district, regional, and national competitions. She is currently the Artistic Director of the Music Theatre department at Mesa Community College (MCC) where she vocal music directs all musical theatre productions, teaches private voice lessons, Broadway Solos, Class Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, and Audition Techniques classes. Leia received an AriZoni nomination in 2023 for Best Music Direction for her Vocal Direction for MCC’s production of Something Rotten, as well a nomination in 2022 for Best Music Direction for her Vocal Direction for ASU’s production of Bright Star.
Leia specializes in using traditional vocal pedagogy to teach singers how to sound authentic in whatever genre they choose to sing, while maintaining vocal health. She provides masterclasses and workshops all over the Phoenix area in musical theatre, pop/rock techniques, and riffing, as well as vocal health and vocal pedagogy clinics. Her most recent clinic was for the Arizona Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (AzACDA) where she lectured on “Vocal Health in the Choral Classroom”.
Along with teaching, you can find Leia on the stage or behind the mic in various professional choirs, musical theatre productions, and gigs across the Valley. She is currently an alto in the semi-professional choir, Canto Vivo Chorale, and is a member of the Phoenix Chorale since 2015. Leia has toured all over the world performing choral works with Canto Vivo Chorale and Essence of Joy, has performed with The Rolling Stones and Michael Bublé, and has sang under the direction of Ramin Djawadi in the Game of Thrones National Tour. She has also been on stage with Arnie Roth and the Phoenix Symphony in the national tour of Distant World: Music from Final Fantasy, sung with the Phoenix Bach Society, Arizona State University’s Gospel Choir, The King’s Carolers, and is currently a worship leader at Saint Thomas More. The last few musical theatre productions Leia has performed in are Godspell at ASU, and Bernstein’s Mass also at ASU, along with participating in the Phoenix Theatre Company’s New Works Festival. Her most recent role was Judy Bernly in Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 under the direction of Trisha Ditsworth, where she was nominated for an AriZoni award for Best Leading Actress.
Currently, you can find Leia leading worship at St. Thomas More in Glendale, AZ, vocal music directing the latest Mesa Community College musical theatre production, or singing professionally in gigs, choirs, or musical theatre productions.
Leia’s goal in life is to bring joy and encouragement to all those who wish to learn how to sing, and to those who hear her perform.
Jeremy Aye
Jeremy received his Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he studied with the renowned vocal pedagogue, Barbara Doscher, pupil of Berton Coffin. As a graduate student in Colorado, he taught both individual lessons to vocal performance majors as well as group voice-class for non-major singers. Teachers and mentors include Claudia Kennedy, Richard Miller, Robert Harrison, George Gibson, Bill Schuman, and Brian Gill.
Jeremy has performed in numerous operas, musicals and concerts throughout the United States. His repertoire includes leading roles in Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, La Bohème, Die Zauberflöte, La Fanciulla del West, Un Ballo in Maschera, Camelot, The Man of La Mancha, Street Scene, South Pacific, Guys & Dolls, Kismet, Anything Goes, and The Fantasticks!. Companies include: Arizona Opera, Opera Colorado, Los Angeles Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha, Kansas City Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Fullerton Civic Light Opera, Santa Fe Opera (Apprentice Artist), and Mid-America Productions (2007 Carnegie Hall debut). In addition to solo work, Jeremy sang as an extra chorister for 15 seasons with The Metropolitan Opera since 2005, numbering over 470 performances in 24 magnificent productions such as Aida, Turandot, Parsifal, Les Troyens and Bill Budd.
In 2006, Jeremy became an adjunct voice professor at NYU Steinhardt. In addition to teaching classical and musical theater voice majors, he had taught the repertoire curriculum for Steinhardt’s thriving Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy, as well as Business Skills for Classical Singers. In 2012, he presented at NYU’s International Voice Symposium along with voice experts Johan Sundberg, Ingo Titze, Brian Gill, Lucian Sulica, Milan Amin, Don Miller and Ron Scherer. In the summer of 2015, Jeremy and his colleagues Brian Gill and Kathleen Myrick, launched the NYU Summer Vocal Pedagogy Intensive, with world renowned voice scientist Johan Sundberg. During his 18 years as a highly sought after voice professor at NYU, Jeremy was the recipient of the Steinhardt Teaching Excellence Award in 2018 for his outstanding credentials, qualifications and contributions to student learning.
In addition to his affiliations with American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and Opera America, Jeremy is the a member of the National Society of Arts and Letters (NSAL) and serves on the board for the Arizona Chapter as Voice Co-Chair.
Along side his private teacher studio, Jeremy is on the voice faculty for Prague Summer Nights, a 4 week music festival that produces recitals, concerts and operas in the Czech Republic. The festival highlight includes a full production of Don Giovanni, in the famous Estates Theatre where Mozart premiered his masterpiece.
Jeremy’s private students range from emerging talent to professional singers who perform on the stages of Broadway and The Metropolitan Opera.
Stephanie Weiss
Stephanie Weiss, mezzo-soprano, is an associate professor of voice at Arizona State University – Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts – School of Music, Dance and Theatre. She earned her bachelor’s in music from New England Conservatory (voice), bachelor’s in biology and drama Tufts University, master’s in music from University of Missouri-Kansas City, Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Previously, she was assistant professor of voice at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a teaching fellow with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department, and has served on the faculty of COSI (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy) in Sulmona, Italy. She currently is on the faculty at Dramatic Voices Program at Opera Programs Berlin and since 2010, she has been on the voice faculty at AIMS in Graz.
A San Diego native, she was a Midwest Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and at Mannes College of Music, a recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation. As the winner of the American Berlin Opera Foundation Competition (now Opera Foundation), she became a member of Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiatin and continues to be a regular guest artist with the company. Roles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin have included Frasquita (Carmen), Musetta (La bohème), Erste Dame and Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Gerhilde and Grimgerde (Die Walküre), and Schlafittchen (Berlin premiere of Das Traumfresserchen), Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin (Elektra), Johanna [cover] (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna), and Venus [cover] (Tannhäuser) in the company’s tour to Beijing.
On the concert stage, she debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic as the Cook in “Le Rossignol” under the baton of Pierre Boulez. She has also sung the role of Rose in “Lakmé” at Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler. She performed “Wesendonck Lieder” with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” and Symphony No. 4, and Strauss’ “Vier letzte Lieder” with the L’viv Philharmonic (Ukraine), and Santuzza in “Cavalleria rusticana” with Singakademie Potsdam.
A versatile performer, she has also been seen at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin as Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Marthe (Faust), Oper Frankfurt as Musetta (La bohème), Oper Leipzig as Grimgerde (Die Walküre) and Stadttheater Bern, Oper Dortmund, and Oper Köln as Marianne Leitmetzerin. Other notable performances have included Venus in “Tannhäuser” with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, and the title role of Johanna in “Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna” by Walter Braunfels at Oper Köln.
An advocate of new music and art song, she performs frequently with her ‘duo au courant’ partner, pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova. They performed the world premiere of Jonathan Stark’s song cycle “Passageway” at the National Opera Center and presented a lecture recital in Sydney, Australia. Recently, the duo’s debut CD, “Sacred & Profane – Duo au Courant performs Song Cycles of Daren Hagen” was released on Albany Records and distributed by Naxos.