This message is being sent on behalf of Tracy Dahl, Instructor, Desautels Faculty of Music

Dear voice students,

For students new to the faculty, Mark and Zita Bernstein created the Zita Bernstein Lieder Competition with their passion for German Lieder, accompanied by their strong desire to promote the studying of and performing opportunities of Lied for students. Undergraduate voice students this competition is for you alone.

We are pleased to announce that one of Canada’s finest collaborative pianists Steven Philcox will be heading our panel of adjudicators for the Bernstein Lieder competition.

Steven Philcox is Associate professor and head of Collaborative piano studies at the University of Toronto. He was a celebrated member of the music staff at the Canadian Opera Company. He is known for recitals and his partnerships with Canada’s elite singers. He has garnered praise for curating unique concerts and his non-traditional approaches to performance. His teaching has taken him across Canada, the United States and Europe. He is the co-founder of the Canadian Art Song project where they have 6 recordings of Canadian art song, a Juno nomination and also encourage and support the writing of new vocal works.

Along with this announcement we are attaching your application form. Please read the attached form carefully and discuss your choices with your instructor before submitting. The requirements are specified on the application form. If you have questions address them to your MPS instructor.

Note; we require your music when you submit your application for the preliminaries. Translations will only be required for the final round for the program note.

The deadline for applications is November 23, 2023

Preliminaries on December 7, 2023 starting at 3:30 p.m.

Finals on Sunday, January 21, 2024 in the afternoon time TBA.

Have fun selecting music. We look forward to receiving your applications. Don’t wait until the deadline, if you know what you are doing send in your application early.

All the best to everyone

Tracy Dahl, C.M.