Vocal Studies
Richard Miller Classical Voice Competition for High School Students
This competition is a presentation of the Oberlin Conservatory Division of Vocal Studies.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
SEPTEMBER 29, 2026
The Richard Miller Classical Voice Competition for High School Students is named in honor of longtime Oberlin Conservatory voice faculty member, author, pedagogue, and performing artist. This competition has been established to encourage and support high school students in pursuit of a career in classical vocal music.
Fifteen semifinalists compete for cash awards and scholarships to Oberlin College and Conservatory, as well as the opportunity to appear in master classes with esteemed members of the competition jury, made up of voice faculty at Oberlin, and a prominent guest from the field.
Prizes:
- 1st prize - $2500
- 2nd prize - $1500
- 3rd prize - $1000
- 4th and 5th prizes, "Howard Lubin Encouragement Awards" - $500 each
- Scholarships
All prizes awarded are at the discretion of the judges.
Eligibility: The competition is open to sophomore, junior, and senior high school students recommended by their choral or voice teachers.
Required competition repertoire: Participants must prepare three contrasting pieces from the classical repertoire, including spirituals and folksongs, one of which must be in the singer’s native language.
Application procedure:
Applicant must provide—
- a letter of recommendation from the participant’s current voice teacher or choral instructor
- an unedited video (provide YouTube links to your video recordings); see Video Guidelines
- $45 non-refundable application fee
Video Guidelines:
- All videos must include memorized performances of three contrasting selections from the standard classical repertoire (including spirituals and folksongs) and be performed with live piano accompaniment.
- A spoken introduction that includes only the contestant’s name and the title of the selection should begin each recorded performance.
- The applicant may submit one video with all performances included, or two separate videos for each selection.
- Videos should give an accurate impression of the contestant’s voice (with no enhancement or editing) and with contestants appearing in full view.
Competition Rules:
Final Competition repertoire due: October 20
Live competition rounds and master classes will be held in person on the campus of Oberlin Conservatory in Kulas Recital Hall.
Oberlin Conservatory's professional collaborative pianists will be provided for the semifinal and final rounds. There will be no opportunity to rehearse with the pianist before the competition.
2026 Competition
Date and Location
Saturday, November 7, 2026
Oberlin Conservatory, Kulas Recital Hall
Oberlin, OH
Jury
- Salvatore Champagne, director
- Oberlin Voice Faculty
baritone David Adam Moore, guest jury member and master class teacher
Named one of the world’s 100 Most Creative Visionaries in Experiential Art by the XLIST, David Adam Moore maintains a prolific international career as a performer, director, and immersive media artist.
As a Grammy-nominated leading baritone for companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Carnegie Hall, and the Salzburger Festspiele, his repertoire of over 65 principal roles features acclaimed interpretations of Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Dead Man Walking, Billy Budd, Stanley Kowalski, Prior Walter, Winterreise, and Carmina Burana. A devotee of contemporary music, Moore has created roles for composers including Thomas Adès, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Peter Eötvös, Mary Kouyoumdjian, and David T. Little. Recent performances include a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Horatio in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, the world premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard at L.A. Opera, his Royal Opera Covent Garden debut as Col. Gomez in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel, the international debut of his multimedia staging of Schubert’s Winterreise at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, and the title role in a new production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking for Hungarian State Opera, with scenic design taken from Moore’s documentary photographs of Angola prison.
His work in immersive media, stage direction/design, and performance art has been presented by institutions worldwide, including the Guggenheim, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, .NO Gallery NYC, and National Sawdust. Alongside his artistic partner, director-designer Vita Tzykun, Moore is the artistic director of the NYC-based transmedia collective GLMMR, whose projects range from large scale stage works including William Tell at Boston Lyric Opera to original immersive installations like Taming the Lightning - debuting in NYC in 2027 - that incorporate electroacoustic spatial sound compositions, live operatic singing, audience interaction technologies, and live plant sonification. His projection design work for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Faust has been featured in Lighting and Sound America Magazine, and his award-winning photography has been published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine and Boosey & Hawkes Music.
A protégé of the influential voice pedagogue and author, Richard Miller (Structure of Singing, Training Tenor Voices), Moore served as Miller’s Principal Research Assistant at the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Center at Oberlin Conservatory, where was honored as a McNair Scholar and National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences grant recipient. Moore’s pedagogical practice, developed in collaboration with Vita Tzykun, centers around transdisciplinarity - using macroconcepts to accelerate learning and develop future-facing skills across disciplinary boundaries. He currently serves on the faculty of the National Theater Institute, where he teaches Transdisciplinary Storytelling and Voice, in addition to serving as a two-time Granada Artist-in-Residence and Visiting Professor at University of California - Davis.
He has given lectures and masterclasses at Mannes School of Music, University of Tel Aviv, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, San Diego State University, University of Texas, Utah State University, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill School of Music. He has served on the advisory boards of San Diego Opera's Opera Hack and Austin Opera’s Innovation Council in collaboration with other thought leaders and technologists from major corporations and cultural institutions to find new paths forward from the intersection of historical arts and emerging technology.
Acknowledgement
The Richard Miller Classical Voice Competition for High School Students is supported in part by funds given in memory of former Oberlin College and Conservatory faculty member and alumnus Howard Lubin '75.
Learn more about Vocal Studies at Oberlin
The Division of Vocal Studies is dedicated to nurturing the undergraduate singer and includes the departments of Voice and Opera Theater.
Oberlin Conservatory develops young singers through private study, vocal coaching, diction and language courses, pedagogy classes, and study of music that spans genres, eras, and styles. Students gain confidence, performance acumen, auditioning skills, and artistry, opening a world of possibilities.