Prizewinners for The Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition Announced

Finalists from left: Philipe Durrant, Haeyeon Lee, Devony Smith, Matthew Dexter, Veronica Roan, Ryan Lustgarten, Melanie Spector, Erinn Sensenig. Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, April 18, 2026. Photo by Fadi Kheir.

 

 

Now in its 49th year, The Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition remains the longest-running and most prestigious competition for the oratorio repertory

 

From an applicant pool of 135 vocalists, eight finalists were announced to compete in 49th Annual Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition Finals on April 18, 2026 in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

 

The winners have been selected as follows:

 

PHILIPPE DURRANT, tenor - The Robert E. Ludwig Award for First Place​

HAEYEON LEE, soprano - The Meyerson/Zwanger Award for Second Place

DEVONY SMITH, mezzo - The Janet Plucknett Award for Third Place ​

MATTHEW DEXTER, bass-baritone - The Watson Family Award​

VERONICA ROAN, mezzo - ​ The William Grogan Award

RYAN LUSTGARTEN, tenor  -  The Robert & Winifred Connelly Green Award​

MELANIE SPECTOR, soprano -  The Leopold O. Damrosch Award

ERINN SENSENIG, soprano - The Oratorio Society Community Prize

 

British-Chinese tenor Philippe Durrant won 2nd prize at the 70th Kathleen Ferrier Awards in London, and is a member of the Carnegie Hall SongStudio and the 13th cohort of Les Arts Florissants' Le Jardin des Voix.

 

Soprano Haeyeon Lee, an HMDK Stuttgart alumna and Bach-Archiv Leipzig scholar, recently appeared as a soloist in Händel’s Dixit Dominus and Mendelssohn’s St. Paul.

 

Mezzo-soprano Devony Smith was GRAMMY®-nominated for Best Classical Vocal Solo and praised by The New York Times for her “sensual” and “strong” voice.

 

Matthew Dexter is a bass-baritone from McKinney, Texas. In May of 2026, he expects to graduate with a master’s in early voice from Yale University.

 

Veronica Roan is a mezzo-soprano from Dallas, Texas. She will graduate this May with an MM in Voice, with concentration in Early Music, Oratorio, and Art Song, from the Yale School of Music.

 

Ryan Lustgarten was born in Seattle, WA and is currently based in Manhattan. He received his education at Washington State University, Northwestern University, and the Boston University Opera Institute.

 

"Sparkling coloratura" Melanie Spector is a New York-based soprano, and proud alumna of the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program and Aspen Music Festival (Fleming Artist). 

 

Erinn Sensenig, soprano, is active as a soloist and professional choral singer performing regularly with leading New York ensembles. She can be heard as soloist on Musica Viva NY’s 2024 Naxos release And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair.

 

Applications for the 2026 competition were submitted by singers in the United States, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Spain; 66 sopranos, 29 mezzos, one alto, two contraltos, ten countertenors, twelve tenors, nine baritones, five bass-baritones, and one bass comprised the applicant pool 

 

The range of judges represents esteemed colleges and conservatories, choruses, arts management firms, and celebrated musicians. They included: 

 

Preliminary:

Evan Fein, The Juilliard School

Ryan Jackson, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church

Bryan Zaros, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

 

Semi-Finals:

Donna Breitzer, Mezzo-Soprano

Anna Lenti, Williams College; Northern Berkshire Chorale

Kenneth Overton, Baritone

David Rosenmeyer, OSNY; Fairfield Chorale

Sarah Stephens, Stephens Nicolson Artist Management

 

Finals:

Matthew Horner, IMG Artists

Tomoko Nakayama, Yale School of Music 

Mark Shapiro, Cantori New York; The Cecilia Chorus of New York

Kent Tritle, OSNY; Musica Sacra; Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Jennifer Zetlan, Soprano

 

Past winners of the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition have included a staggering number of acclaimed singers, including countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski, soprano Jacquelyn Stucker, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, baritone Brian Mulligan, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Rufus Müller, and many others 

 

49th Annual Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition Finals

Carnegie Hall - Weill Recital Hall

Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 1:30PM

Amir Farid, piano

 

Erinn Sensenig, soprano

J.S. Bach - “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen” from Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen BWV 51

O. Golijov - “Lua descolorida” from La pasión según San Marcos

 

Ryan Lustgarten, tenor

G. F. Handel - “Thou shalt break them” from Messiah

C. Hella Johnson - “In need of breath” from Considering Matthew Shepard

 

Veronica Roan, mezzo-soprano

J. S. Bach - “Fromme Musen! Meine Glieder” from Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! BWV 214

G. Mahler - “Urlicht” from Symphony No. 2

 

Melanie Spector, soprano

J. Brahms - “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” from Ein Deutsches Requiem

W. A. Mozart - “Alleluia” from Exultate, Jubilate, K. 165

 

Matthew Dexter, bass-baritone

G. Fauré - “Hostias” from Requiem

I. Stravinsky - “Respondit Deus” from Œdipus Rex

 

Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano

G. F. Handel - “As with rosy steps the morn” from Theodora

W. A. Mozart - “Laudamus Te” from Mass in C minor K. 417

 

Philippe Durrant, tenor

G. F. Handel - “Urne voi” from Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno

J. Haydn - “In native worth and honor clad” from The Creation

 

Haeyeon Lee, soprano

J. Haydn - “Nun beut die Flur” from Die Schöpfung

G. F. Handel - “Rejoice greatly” from Messiah

 

 

ABOUT ORATORIO SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

The Oratorio Society of New York is one of the oldest musical organizations in the United States and has become New York City’s standard for grand choral performance. Founded in 1873 by Leopold Damrosch, the Society has played an integral role in the musical life of the city. In its early years, the Society established a fund to finance the building of a new concert hall, a cause taken up in earnest by the Society’s fifth president, Andrew Carnegie. In 1891, and under the direction of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the Society helped inaugurate this new Music Hall, which would be renamed Carnegie Hall several years later.

 

The Society continues to perform several times each season at Carnegie Hall. Its annual performances of Handel’s Messiah, a New York holiday tradition unbroken since 1874, have become a favorite with New York audiences. The December 2024 performance marked its milestone 150th consecutive holiday Messiah. In addition to its collaborations with the New York Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as other performing arts institutions, the Society performs internationally every few years – including tours to Japan, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, and Brazil.

 

The Society is also committed to commissioning and championing new works, including most recently three pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and Grammy Award-winning librettist Mark Campbell: Sanctuary Road which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award and is available from Naxos Records, A Nation of Others, which saw its premiere in November 2022 and is available from Lexicon Classics, and All Shall Rise, focusing on voting rights in the U.S., which premiered in May 2025.