{"id":118084,"date":"2025-10-02T15:43:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118084"},"modified":"2025-10-03T08:00:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T12:00:04","slug":"scoop-seven-finalists-announced-canadian-opera-company-centre-stage-ensemble-studio-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/02\/scoop-seven-finalists-announced-canadian-opera-company-centre-stage-ensemble-studio-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SCOOP | Seven Finalists Announced For The Canadian Opera Company Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_118086\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118086\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118086\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-02T154109.815.jpg\" alt=\"Camila Montefusco, mezzo-soprano; S\u00f8ren Pedersen, baritone; Jacob Abrahamse, tenor; Sarah Anderson-Caulfield, soprano; Onur Hilaloglu, bass; Nikan Ingabire Kanate, soprano; Jackson Allen, tenor (All photos courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-02T154109.815.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-02T154109.815-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-02T154109.815-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-02T154109.815-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118086\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Camila Montefusco, mezzo-soprano; S\u00f8ren Pedersen, baritone; Jacob Abrahamse, tenor; Sarah Anderson-Caulfield, soprano; Onur Hilaloglu, bass; Nikan Ingabire Kanate, soprano; Jackson Allen, tenor (All photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seven finalists have been chosen to compete in the 2025 Canadian Opera Company Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition. The list of new opera voices from across Canada was chosen after a cross-country audition tour.<\/p>\n<p>The Ensemble Studio Competition is the COC\u2019s largest fundraising event of the season. All proceeds go towards supporting the Ensemble Studio program, which prepares emerging talented vocal artists for a professional career. Since 2013, the event has raised more than $4.5 million for the career development program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a pivotal moment and milestone for any emerging singer,\u201d says <strong>Dorian Cox<\/strong>, Director of the Ensemble Studio in a statement. \u201cTo be named a finalist is not only a recognition of exceptional talent, but also the start of a journey that can propel these artists onto national and international stages. We\u2019re thrilled to welcome this year\u2019s finalists and celebrate the extraordinary possibilities ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The competition received applications from 117 candidates, and heard auditions from 60 young singers in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>The final competitors are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jacob Abrahamse, tenor<\/li>\n<li>Jackson Allen, tenor<\/li>\n<li>Sarah Anderson-Caulfield, soprano<\/li>\n<li>Onur Hilaloglu, bass<\/li>\n<li>Nikan Ingabire Kanate, soprano<\/li>\n<li>Camila Montefusco, mezzo-soprano<\/li>\n<li>S\u00f8ren Pedersen, baritone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Competition<\/h3>\n<p>The finals of the competition take place on October 23. The seven finalists will perform for the judges one last time, accompanied by the acclaimed COC Orchestra led by COC Music Director Johannes Debus.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ll be competing for cash prizes, as well as the opportunity to be part of the COC\u2019s Ensemble Studio throughout the year. The Audience Choice Prize will be awarded based on a live vote<\/p>\n<p>Former Member of Parliament, broadcast journalist, and co-host on CTV\u2019s The Social <strong>Marci Ien<\/strong> will host the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe arts have the power to transform, to heal, and to connect us in ways that nothing else can,\u201d says Ien. \u201cThey remind us of our shared humanity and inspire us to dream bigger than we ever thought possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As an extra touch, this year the event will include a tribute to celebrated dramatic tenor Ben Heppner, a former member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. Ben was a member of the Ensemble Studio in 1982-1984, and he\u2019ll appear at the event as a special guest to mark another his 70th birthday.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find more details and tickets for the gala [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coc.ca\/tickets\/2526-season\/centre-stage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seven finalists have been chosen to compete in the 2025 Canadian Opera Company Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competition. The list of new opera voices from across Canada was chosen after a cross-country audition tour. The Ensemble Studio Competition is the COC\u2019s largest fundraising event of the season. All proceeds go towards supporting the Ensemble Studio [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":118086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,17,39,43,63],"tags":[42313,40305,42315,40937,42314,42316,42317,42312],"yst_prominent_words":[6871,7306,13174],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-2025-10-02T154109.815.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-uIA","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118084"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118094,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118084\/revisions\/118094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118084"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=118084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}