10 budding artists in Fort Worth for ‘high-stakes, high-drama’ McCammon Voice Competition

The place to see emerging vocalists is at 2 p.m. on March 23 in the Kimbell Art Museum’s Piano Pavilion, when 10 finalists will compete for $15,000 in prizes in the McCammon Voice Competition.

Now in its 40th year, the biennial event is hosted by the Fort Worth Opera and named for Marguerite McCammon, president of the Opera Guild and member of the Opera board. It’s now known as one of the competitions for budding vocalists. Fort Worth Opera General and Artistic Director Angela Turner Wilson called it “high-stakes, high-drama, and high artistry — all in one thrilling afternoon.”

Three-hundred performers from across the world applied and a panel of 17 judges winnowed them down to 48, followed by another panel choosing the 10 finalists, who come from California, Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Washington. Winona Martin of Dallas is the only Texan to make the cut.

Vanessa Uzan of New York-based UIA Talent Agency has been an artist’s representative for 23 years. She’s long had her eye on the McCammon. She is one of four judges for the final competition, along with Turner Wilson, Santa Fe Opera’s Chandler Johnson and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s music director laureate Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

“I’m honored to be a judge for this prestigious competition,” Uzan said. But as an agent for performers in a fast changing landscape for the arts, part of the McCammon’s criteria makes it different from other competitions because of its focus on hireability.

“It’s increasingly important to focus on hireability as we face cuts in the arts,” she said. As residencies and company resources dwindle, vocalists must be adaptable for productions and performances, all without sacrificing their strengths.

Opera, like other performing arts, has yet to recoup from pre-pandemic levels of giving and attendance. Companies, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have reduced the number of productions or shut down. Earlier this year the experimental New York-based On Site Opera closed. That’s despite their performing in venues such as a soup kitchen and Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, which significantly reduced overhead. Larger companies, including Maryland Lyric Opera, Syracuse Opera and Miami Lyric Opera closed.

“Each finalist on that stage could be standing on the brink of a major career. When you come out and support them, you’re getting an afternoon of spectacular voices singing world famous arias — but it’s deeper than that. You’re also helping to shape the future of opera,” Turner Wilson said.

Tickets are available at FWOpera.org.

This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM.