��������

Contact: Courtney Hiatt, CFPA Marketing, (360) 650-2829, courtney.hiatt@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM – Deborah Blakesley, a soprano in the Western Washington University Department of Music, has been selected as the winner of the The American Prize in Vocal Performance-Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award in the 2012 college/university opera division.

Deborah Blakesley

Each year, the prize is awarded to the best performances by classically trained vocalists, based on submitted recordings.  Applicants are accepted from across the United States.

As the 2011-2012 winner, Blakesley, a native of Blaine and a graduate of Bellingham High School, will receive a cash prize, certificate, and written evaluations from a national panel of judges. 

Blakesley’s recent roles include Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni” at ��������; La Principessa in “Adriana Lecouvreur,” Mrs. Grose in “Turn of the Screw,” and Aunt March in “Little Women” at the Banff Opera Centre; and the Witch in “Hansel and Gretel” with the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra.

The American Prize in Vocal Performance-Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award honors the memory of Wagnerian baritone, Friedrich Schorr, and his wife, Virignia, who taught studio voice at the Manhattan School of Music and the Hartt School of Music.

Founded in 2009, The American Prize is a series of competitions designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, ensembles, and composers in the United States based on submitted recordings.

For additional information on The American Prize, please visit ; for more information on Deborah Blakesley or the Department of Music at Western Washingotn University, contact Courtney Hiatt at (360) 650-2829 or courtney.hiatt@wwu.edu.