Awards & Recognitions

The Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition honors the memory of Eastman’s beloved German professor, Jessie Kneisel, and is made possible through the extraordinary generosity of Eastman alumnus George McWhorter. The competition is held annually in May with the preliminary round in March. The preliminary round is judged by the entire Voice, Opera and Vocal Coaching faculty, while the finals are judged by an invited distinguished guest.

Carolina Sullivan was the winner of the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition in the spring of 2024.

Nancy Fuldner Walker, memorialized by these scholarships, was a musician, music teacher and strong advocate for all music and arts organizations. She provided able leadership to Matinée Musicale for more than four decades before her death in October 2017. Matinée Musicale Cincinnati honors her legacy of support and encouragement of young musicians through these scholarships.

Matinée Musicale Cincinnati originated in 1911, when a group of women – all performing musicians - began presenting public concerts.

Two years later, in 1913, they launched a professional recital series, engaging both up-and-coming and already established vocal and instrumental recitalists, selected worldwide. Many of these outstanding performers have made their Cincinnati, and even their American, debuts under the auspices of Matinée Musicale. Thanks to a generous bequest from former Matinée Board President, philanthropist, and classically trained musician, Louise Dieterle Nippert, Matinée Musicale’s tradition of musical excellence continues.

Carolina Sullivan was the second place winner in the 2022 scholarship competition.

The Voice, Opera & Vocal Coaching Department of the Eastman School of Music cherishes its relationship with an organization known as Friends of Eastman Opera, which is unique in academic opera programs. For more than a decade, this large group of vibrant  opera lovers has lent its support to Eastman Opera Theatre in a variety of ways. It has provided the funds with which the program purchased both the super title projector, used for many productions, a state-of-the-art DVD recorder used for staged productions and made available to Eastman singers for the recording of audition DVDs.

FEO is a very visible presence at all of our events and, as our most passionate “fan club,” spreads the word throughout the Rochester community about opera in general and Eastman Opera Theatre in particular. FEO’s commitment to the nurturing of young singers has made a real difference in the quality of our program. FEO sponsors an annual Vocal Competition in which a number of Eastman’s very best singers, selected by their teachers, compete for significant cash awards. It provides an opportunity for these singers to perform for a nationally or internationally recognized conductor, stage director, or impresario serving as adjudicator who give them valuable feedback. Recent judges have represented the opera companies of Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, Des Moines, Chautauqua, Chicago Lyric Opera, Florentine Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Berlin, Bayreuth,  and the Opera Orchestra of New York. The finalists who perform in this event are selected by the members of the Voice, Opera & Vocal Coaching Faculty at a preliminary audition.

Carolina was a top finalist and received an Honorable Mention in the 2025 FEO competition.

Carolina Sullivan was a top finalist in the 2024 FEO competition.