A vocal disorder wasn’t enough to slow young Perth singer Emily Davis down as she entered the finals of a national singing competition, taking home two prizes including an international mentorship.
Earlier this month, five classical and opera singers from across Australia competed for prizes and career-altering opportunities at the 43rd IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition finals.
Hosted at The Concourse Pat Reilly Concert Hall in NSW, the singers performed with Australia Chamber Orchestra in front of a packed audience, including former UK prime minister Liz Truss and legendary figures of the classical music community.
Amongst the performers was 24-year-old soprano Emily Davis, who entered the finals more nervous than usual due to ongoing vocal issues in the lead up.
“In the month leading up to the finals, I had been dealing with a vocal disorder, so it was a bit up in the air whether or not I was actually going to be able to sing the two pieces,” she said.
“Even in the couple of days before, I wasn’t able to sing them. So the fact I was able to get through my music at all on the finals night was a big achievement for me.”
Despite the extra stress, Davis received two awards for her performances of ‘Temerari…Come scoglio’ from Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte and a rendition of ‘Kaddish’ from Ravel’s Deux melodies hebraiques.
The Elizabeth Todd memorial prize is a $1000 grant designed as a special encouragement award for a soprano or mezzo, as well as a performance opportunity in Sydney.
Davis also received the highly-coveted Haas German mentorship award, which offers mentoring sessions with international performer and pedagogue Dr Caitlin Hulcup in Germany. It includes $2500 to assist with travel expenses.
Davis said the timing was perfect, as she was already looking at studying in Germany later down the track.
“In a couple of years, I’m hoping to do my master’s degree at the Universitat der Kunste Berlin, which is where Caitlin Hulcup is head of voice, and half the German prize includes mentoring sessions with Caitlin Hulcup,” she said.
“It was the perfect prize for me to have won, and I’m hoping at some point to get to Berlin and do those mentoring sessions with her and chat about what it’s like studying in Germany and being a professional musician in Germany.”
Davis is about to complete her music honours thesis at UWA and hopes to continue advancing her singing and get enjoyment out of it.
“Competitions aren’t the be all end all of being a successful classical musician ... it’s definitely a plus and a bonus and it’s a feather in my cap and a fantastic opportunity, I’m very grateful for the mentorship I’ve received,” she said.
The competition’s overall winner was 25-year-old soprano Hannah Burton from NSW, who received the Zeny Edwards educational grant, the ABC classic studio recording prize and the MOST audience prize.
Fellow competitors 26-year-old Sky Kim from NSW, 23-year-old Leyland Jones from Victoria and 23-year-old Aylish Ryan from Queensland also took home prizes to support their future careers.
All five singers advanced to the final round of auditions for the Opera Australia Young Artist Program, starting in 2027.