Past Utah District Winners

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. She has long relationship with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera.

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..."

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).

2019-20 Utah District Winner

After winning the Grand Finals of the 2020 Met Opera National Council Auditions, tenor Jonah Hoskins was a Lindemann Young Artist with the Met. Since the 2025/26 season, he has been a member of the Hamburg State Opera ensemble. Engagements have taken him to, among others, the Semperoper Dresden, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Santa Fe Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.

2025-26 Winners Pictured (left to right) Kayleigh Tolley, McKenzie Mulberry, Tavita Ah Loe, Ashley Stewart, Samuel Lorenzo Gilbert, Beth Clayton, Julia Holoman, Stephen Pitters, Paul Hopper, and Mark Schnaible.

2021-22 Utah District Winner

Daniel O'Hearn advanced to the 2022 national finals through the Utah District. He has since been a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist, an Apprentice Artist with The Santa Fe Opera and a Lindemann Young Artist with the Metropolitan Opera. Recent seasons have included returns to The Metropolitan Opera, Utah Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera, as well as a debut with Deutsche Oper Berlin.