Somerset Song Prize 2019

About

The final of the next competition will be held in Taunton on Sunday 19th May 2019. Heats will take place in London, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester during the spring. The winning singer will receive a cash prize of £1000 and, decided separately, the winning pianist will receive a cash prize of £1000. There will be other cash prizes too. The judges for the Final will be pianist Simon Lepper, Toby Spence, tenor, and soprano and competition Patron, Elizabeth Watts. It's #allabouttheduo

The Somerset Song Prize is a biennial national singing competition for young people aged 18 to 26. The competition is organised through a series of regional rounds followed by semi-finals and a final over one weekend in Taunton.

The Somerset Song Prize is a competition for art song and it places a special importance on the collaborative relationship between the singer and their pianist. Arias from oratorios and operas are not permitted. The definition of art song is reasonably wide although competitors must include in their programme a song which is not in their native language.

In 2017 the competition received financial support from the Fairfield Charitable Trust, Somerset Opera, the Ronald Tickner Educational Trust, the Amici Choir and private donations. The SSP is immensely grateful to these organisations and individuals for their support.

The Somerset Song Prize was inaugurated in 2013 under the aegis of the Taunton Festival of the Arts. The competition has quickly developed an excellent reputation in part due to some great adjudicators - including Iain Burnside, Elizabeth Watts, Jonathan Lemalu, Neal Davies, Joan Rogers, Lorna Anderson, Roger Vingnoles and Malcolm Martineau. The soprano Elizabeth Watts and the pianist Roger Vignoles are the competition's Patrons.

Tickets on sale at Taunton Visitor Centre