The Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition, organised every five years by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, counts among the most prestigious competitions of its kind in the world. The sixth Mirjam Helin Singing Competition will again be bringing the best young vocal talents to Helsinki on 1-12 August 2009.
The competition is open, regardless of nationality, to women born in 1978 or later and men born in 1976 or later. In both categories four prizes will be awarded, the total value of which is EURO 140 000 (approx. USD 186 000). The value of the first prize is EURO 25 000 (approx. USD 33 000).
The number of the applicants increased overwhelmingly, by one third, from the previous competition in 2004. Out of 343 applications from 42 countries, altogether 64 singers were chosen to participate. The competitors represent 19 countries from all continents. The competitors include 6 coloratura sopranos, 17 sopranos, 7 mezzo-sopranos, 3 countertenors, 10 tenors, 13 baritones, 3 bass-baritones and 5 basses.
The Jury of the competition will be chaired by Jorma Silvasti and consists of Teresa Berganza, Soile Isokoski, Thomas Moser, Jewgenij Nesterenko, René Pape, Birgitta Svendén and Anna Tomowa-Sintow. René Pape won the competition in 1989 and will be the first winner of the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition to enter the jury.
The Preliminary Round and the Semifinals will be held at the Sibelius Academy, University of Music, on 3-9 August 2009, and the Final at the Finnish National Opera on 12 August 2009. The finalists will be accompanied by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leif Segerstam. The Prizewinners´concert will be held in Oulu on 14 August 2009.
Also a master class will be held in conjunction with the competition on 10-11 August 2009. Singers not qualifying to the Semifinals or Final will be entitled to receive instruction from the members of the Jury.
For further information please contact:
Ms. Marja-Leena Pétas
Executive Secretary
tel. +358 50 501 4026
COMPETITORS OF THE VI MIRJAM HELIN INTERNATIONAL SINGING COMPETITION
|
Name |
Voice range |
Nationality |
Year of Birth |
|
Yulia Alexeeva |
soprano |
Ukrainian |
1984 |
|
Jose Alvarez |
countertenor |
American |
1979 |
|
Elizabeth Bailey |
soprano |
British |
1980 |
|
Daejin Bang |
baritone |
Korean |
1977 |
|
Andrei Bondarenko |
baritone |
Ukrainian |
1987 |
|
Grigory Chernetsov |
baritone |
Russian |
1989 |
|
Jeongki Cho |
tenor |
Korean |
1979 |
|
Peter Baekeun Cho |
baritone |
Korean |
1977 |
|
Siman Chung |
countertenor |
Korean |
1983 |
|
Michel de Souza |
baritone |
Brazilian |
1978 |
|
Vladislav Dorozhkin |
bass |
Russian |
1981 |
|
Michael Feyfar |
tenor |
Swiss |
1979 |
|
Gelena Gaskarova |
soprano |
Russian |
1982 |
|
Sergey Gordeev |
baritone |
Russian |
1979 |
|
Yang Guibee |
coloratura soprano |
Korean |
1983 |
|
Katharina Göres |
soprano |
German |
1981 |
|
Mia Heikkinen |
coloratura soprano |
Finnish |
1980 |
|
Ronghai Huang |
bass-baritone |
Chinese |
1977 |
|
Byoung Nam Hwang |
tenor |
Korean |
1976 |
|
Melis Jaatinen |
mezzo-soprano |
Finnish |
1982 |
|
Kishani Jayasinghe |
soprano |
Sri Lankan |
1978 |
|
Sung Won Jin |
tenor |
Korean |
1977 |
|
Hu Jing |
soprano |
Chinese |
1980 |
|
Ilona Jokinen |
soprano |
Finnish |
1981 |
|
Laura Jokipii |
coloratura soprano |
Finnish |
1981 |
|
Keunghea Kang |
soprano |
Korean |
1979 |
|
Mikhail Korobeynikov |
bass |
Russian |
1979 |
|
Tiina-Maija Koskela |
mezzo-soprano |
Finnish |
1980 |
|
Carolina Krogius |
mezzo-soprano |
Finnish |
1979 |
|
Kamila Kulakowska |
soprano |
Polish |
1979 |
|
Ho-Chul Lee |
tenor |
Korean |
1980 |
|
David DQ Lee |
countertenor |
Canadian |
1978 |
|
Sangmin Lee |
baritone |
Korean |
1977 |
|
Yun-Jeong Lee |
coloratura soprano |
Korean |
1980 |
|
Yulia Lezhneva |
soprano |
Russian |
1989 |
|
Chang Han Lim |
baritone |
Korean |
1979 |
|
Chae-Wook Lim |
baritone |
Korean |
1977 |
|
Tomislav Lucic |
bass |
Croatian |
1978 |
|
Florent Mbia |
baritone |
Cameroonian |
1976 |
|
Timothy Mix |
baritone |
American |
1978 |
|
Stanislav Mostovoy |
tenor |
Russian |
1982 |
|
Mika Nisula |
tenor |
Finnish |
1978 |
|
Laura Pyrrö |
soprano |
Finnish |
1978 |
|
Kaisa Ranta |
coloratura soprano |
Finnish |
1980 |
|
Adrey Serov |
bass-baritone |
Russian |
1980 |
|
Nikolay Shamov |
baritone |
Mari |
1982 |
|
Jihan Shin |
tenor |
Korean |
1980 |
|
Nadine Sierra |
soprano |
American |
1988 |
|
Kihwan Sim |
bass |
Korean |
1983 |
|
Anatoli Siuko |
bass-baritone |
Belarusian |
1987 |
|
JiHye Son |
soprano |
Korean |
1981 |
|
Marjukka Tepponen |
soprano |
Finnish |
1984 |
|
Kevin Thompson |
bass |
American |
1979 |
|
Anita Watson |
soprano |
Australian |
1980 |
|
Anna Viktorova |
mezzo-soprano |
Russian |
1981 |
|
Laura Vire |
soprano |
Finnish |
1981 |
|
Elzbieta Wroblewska |
mezzo-soprano |
Polish |
1980 |
|
Yang Yang |
tenor |
Chinese |
1978 |
|
Bo Yang |
tenor |
Chinese |
1982 |
|
Jegyung Yang |
coloratura soprano |
Korean |
1985 |
|
Jung Nan Yoon |
soprano |
Korean |
1980 |
|
Victoria Zaytseva |
mezzo-soprano |
Russian |
1985 |
|
Zhuo Zhang |
mezzo-soprano |
Chinese |
1980 |
|
Azamat Zheltyrguzov |
baritone |
Kazakhstani |
1986 |
The total number of competitors is 64.