Vocal Competition

Kristina Townsend Memorial Vocal Competition

Townsend Opera holds an annual vocal competition for young singers that live in the central valley and foothills between Fresno and Sacramento. Singers are divided into the following age groups, with a cash award for each winner:

The annual vocal competition honors the memory of Kristina Townsend, daughter of founder Erik Buck Townsend and his wife Erika, who passed away of leukemia days before her thirteenth birthday.  This seasons competition will be held on February 25, 2012 at Snider Hall on the CSUStanislaus Campus in Turlock, CA.  For more information or to register for this competition, please contact the Townsend Opera Office at 209.523.6426 or email Amy Sullivan, Artistic Administrator at asullivan@townsendoperaplayers.com.

Click HERE to download the flyer with rules and information.

Click HERE  to download an application for the competition.

Deadline to submit applications is Wednesday, February 22, 2011.  Applications will can be submitted via email and mail to:

Winners will be featured on our webpage and will be required to perform at the Townsend Opera League Luncheon on Saturday, March 17, 2012.  Rehearsals will take place at 10am on  March 17th, 2012 with performances between 12pm-2pm.

Here are some of the winners from our most recent years:

2011 Taylor Carnes; Constantine Pappas; Kyrstin Olsen; Joshua Zanze

2010 Belinda Li; Holly Olsson; Rachel E. Grider; Evgenia Chaverdova

Evgenia Chaverdova is scheduled to sing the role of Mercedes in Townsend Opera’s upcoming production of Carmen in May of 2012.

A native of Moscow, Russia, Ms. Evgenia Chaverdova received a degree in English and Music, and is currently finishing her graduate work at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a member of the San Francisco Opera Theater, Ms. Chaverdova has performed the roles of Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Enfant (L’Enfant et les Sortileges), Climene (L’Egisto), Maria (Maria de Buenos Aires), Public Opinion (Orpheus in the Underworld), Mother Goose (Rake’s Progress), Lucilla (La scala di seta), Madame de Croissy (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Nursing Sister (Suor Angelica), Sesto (Giulio Cesare) with Baroque Ensemble and Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Livermore Valley Opera, and next makes her company debut with Opera Santa Barbara.

To learn more about Evgenia, click HERE

Andrew Thomas Pardini
(Modesto, CA), 2004 and 2005 Kristina Townsend Memorial Vocal Competition Winner, baritone, is a first-year member of the Maryland Opera Studio, pursuing an MM in Opera Performance, studying with Professor Dominic Cossa. Pardini recently graduated from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he received a BM in Vocal Performance and was a pupil of Dr. Gary Glaze. While at Thornton, Pardini performed the role of Maestro Spinelloccio/Gianni Schicchi and covered the role of Brighella/Das Liebesverbot. Pardini also took part in countless productions with the Chamber Opera of USC, interpreting such characters as Navarro/America Tropical, Don Perlimplín/The Love of Don Perlimplín and Mr. Grind/A Coffee Cantata. Pardini performed the roles of Marullo/Rigoletto, Schaunard/La bohéme, and Samuel/Un ballo in maschera, all with the Townsend Opera Players (TOP) based in Modesto, California. Pardini participated in the OperaWorks Emerging Artist Program in June 2010 and the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute this past July, where he portrayed the role of Aeneas/Dido and Aeneas. This past November, Pardini covered the role of Il marito/Amelia al ballo. This spring, Pardini will portray Andreas Baader/The Last Act of Revolution in the Maryland Opera Studio New Work Reading of composer Evan Meier’s premier operatic work as well as Orlick/Miss Havisham’s Fire and cover Man with a Shoe Sample Kit/Postcard from Morocco as part of the Maryland Opera Studio’s The Art of Argento: A Celebration of Composer Dominick Argento’s Works. Mr. Pardini dedicates his every operatic pursuit, with love and admiration, to the memory of his voice teacher and mentor, Maestro Erik Buck Townsend.

To view a complete list of our past winners, click HERE