Past Utah District Winners

Dr. Craig Jessop is Professor of Music and the founding Dean for the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University. These appointments follow Dr. Jessop’s distinguished tenure as music director of the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Head of the Department of Music at Utah State.

1983/84 Utah District Winner

Distinguished American tenor Stanford Olsen is one of this generation’s most successful and versatile artists, his career spans more than 1,200 performances on five continents over the course of 30 years. He is a Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance.

1998/99 Utah District Winner

Celena Nelson Shafer has garnered acclaim for her silvery voice, fearlessly committed acting and phenomenal technique. She spends much of her time on the concert stage where she appears regularly with major orchestras. A celebrated artist in her home state of Utah, Ms. Shafer has long relationship with Utah Opera and Utah Symphony.

2008 Utah District Winner

Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen is known for her diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart to Wagner. A regular guest at the leading opera houses around the world, Le Monde enthused, "…the American soprano has without a doubt one of the most impressive voices in the opera world. The timbre, of marmoreal beauty, is striking, the projection telluric..."

2019-20 Utah District Winner

Jonah Hoskins is a tenor from Saratoga Springs, Utah. Since winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2020, he has been a member of the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. During the Met’s 2022–23 season, he sings Gastone in La traviata and Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore. He recently made his European debut as Chevalier Belfiore in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims in Dresden.

2012 Utah District Winner

Cecilia Violetta López has been named one of “Idaho’s Top 10 Most Influential Women of the Century” by USA Today and has been named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News. The singing actress is constantly praised for her “alluring voice and incredible range” (Washington Post). In January 2021, Opera Idaho appointed Ms. López as the company’s first Artistic Advisor.

2023-24 Winners Aaron Jenkins, Anna Low, Katheryn Cox, Joshua Thomas, Sarah Scofield, and Ryan Johnson with judges Gayletha Nichols, Darren Woods, and Melissa Wegner. (photo courtesy of Dr. Robert Breault)