Senior wins Metropolitan Opera's Encouragement Award
Released: October 18, 2007
Winning the UW-Whitewater Concerto Competition in 2006, receiving the Carlene McMonagle Voice Scholarship and performing with professionals in numerous master classes are all on Janalyn Bump's resume. She can now add the Metropolitan Opera's Encouragement Award to the list.
Bump of Cambria received the $2,000 cash award from the Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions on Oct. 13. Forty singers participated in the competition. A senior vocal performance major, Bump is a lyric coloratura soprano who will perform next month in Mozart's The Impresario at the Light Recital Hall.
"Janalyn certainly is deserving of this award," Brian Leeper said. "This was the culmination of her last four years of vocal studies, as she needed to have five operatic arias in performance shape just to enter the auditions. Not only has she mastered these arias vocally, but she was also able to give a complete dramatic performance of the pieces, stemming from her diligent study of the characters from each of the operas that the arias were taken from."
Bump added, "The singers there were amazing ranging from ages 20 to 30 years old, some were in grad school, some were professional singers and some were undergrad students like myself. This experience was amazing even though at times it was intimidating."
"It is so enlightening for our UW-Whitewater students to see a performer of Janalyn's caliber on a daily basis. It shows our students that hard work and dedication have their rewards. Janalyn's dedication to her craft was so evident in her performance that, although she has not yet performed professionally, it was clear to the judges that she should be encouraged to further pursue a career on the stage," Leeper added.
Bump's next competition will be the National Association of Teachers of Singing Statewide Auditions in November. She also plans to audition for graduate school this coming year.
- Laura Plamann,plamannle06@uww.edu
