Shoshana Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Shoshana Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1986 upon the death of Richard F. Gold who was a long time administrator at both the New York City Opera
and Chamber Opera Theater of New York. The foundation's work focuses on assisting promising opera singers at the start of their careers by providing The Richard F. Gold Career Grant to young singers nominated by their music school and opera apprenticeship program. Music schools currently involved in the scholarship program include the Juilliard School
Opera Center, the Manhattan School of Music
, and the Mannes College of Music
among others. Opera apprenticeship programs include the Lyric Opera of Chicago
, Houston Grand Opera
, San Francisco Opera
, New York City Opera
, Glimmerglass Opera
, and the Wolf Trap Opera Company
. Winners are asked to give at least one charity performance in the year following their award, the expenses of which are met by the foundation.
Winners of The Richard F. Gold Career Grant include:
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
and Chamber Opera Theater of New York. The foundation's work focuses on assisting promising opera singers at the start of their careers by providing The Richard F. Gold Career Grant to young singers nominated by their music school and opera apprenticeship program. Music schools currently involved in the scholarship program include the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
Opera Center, the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, and the Mannes College of Music
Mannes College of Music
Mannes College The New School for Music is The New School university's music conservatory. While the university's main campus is located in Greenwich Village, New York City, Mannes maintains its main academic building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan....
among others. Opera apprenticeship programs include the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
, New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
, and the Wolf Trap Opera Company
Wolf Trap Opera Company
The Wolf Trap Opera Company produces a summer opera festival as part of the program of the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia....
. Winners are asked to give at least one charity performance in the year following their award, the expenses of which are met by the foundation.
Winners of The Richard F. Gold Career Grant include:
- Renée FlemingRenée FlemingRenée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
(1987) - Denyce GravesDenyce GravesDenyce Graves is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Early life:Graves was born on March 7, 1964, to Charles Graves and Dorothy Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington...
(1989) - Brian AsawaBrian AsawaBrian Asawa is a Japanese-American countertenor.He began his studies as a piano major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, ultimately switching his studies to singing under tenor Harlan Hokin. After two semesters there he transferred to UCLA where he studied under Virginia Fox and Kari...
(1991) - Christine GoerkeChristine GoerkeChristine Goerke is a Grammy Award winning American dramatic soprano who has performed with many of the world's best opera companies, orchestras, and musical ensembles.-Early life and education:...
(1993) - David Daniels (1994)
- Stephanie BlytheStephanie BlytheStephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Biography:Blythe graduated from Monticello High School in 1987 and the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1992. She was the recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award in 1999...
(1995) - Chad SheltonChad SheltonChad Shelton is an American operatic tenor. Particularly associated with the acclaimed Houston Grand Opera , Shelton has excelled in performances of contemporary American operas and in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi...
(1997) - Stephanie NovacekStephanie NovacekStephanie Novacek is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who has appeared at many of the world's opera houses. A regular performer at the Houston Grand Opera and Opera Atelier, Novacek is especially known for her performances in contemporary operas and in obscure operas, particularly baroque works,...
(1997) - Michael ManiaciMichael ManiaciMichael Maniaci is an American opera singer who has appeared at many of the world's best opera houses. Possessing a unique male soprano voice, Maniaci is noted for his unusual ability to sing into the upper soprano register without using falsetto...
(2002) - Kate LindseyKate LindseyKate Lindsey is a mezzo-soprano opera singer from the United States.Lindsey holds a Bachelor of Music Degree with Distinction from Indiana University. Her many awards include the 2007 Richard F. Gold Career Grant, the 2007 George London Award in memory of Lloyd Rigler, the 2007 Lincoln Center...
(2007)