At the Met

At the Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 National Council Auditions, the Met’s famed stage was filled with many of the most promising young opera singers of today. At evening’s end, Shorter College alumna Jamie Barton (’04) stood among the six finalists who were selected as winners.

As a winner of the National Council Auditions, Jamie received a $15,000 cash award and the opportunity to audition with the Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s premiere opera companies, once per year during the next three years. At each audition, she will be eligible to receive an additional $5,000 award. The purpose of these follow-up auditions is to give the Metropolitan Opera an opportunity to follow the vocal development of their winners.

The grand finals, held April 1 and broadcast live nationwide over National Public Radio, were the fourth of four levels of competition that made up the National Council Auditions. The winners were chosen from nearly 1,500 singers who participated in the auditions, which are sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council in 45 districts and 15 regions throughout the United States and Canada. Jamie first won the district level competition for the state of Indiana; she then claimed the Tri-State title for a region covering Southern Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. At the semifinals on March 25, she was named one of 11 finalists from across the nation.

Jamie earned her Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance from Shorter in 2004. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in voice performance at Indiana University. At Shorter and during her first year at Indiana, she studied with Dr. Brian Horne. She currently studies voice with Mary Ann Hart.

This summer, Jamie made her professional operatic debut as Annina in La Traviata with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Recent engagements include Mrs. Soames in the world premiere of Rorem’s Our Town, Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and Tisbe in La Cenerentola, all with Indiana Opera Theatre. She recently won third place in the Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition and will join the Houston Grand Opera Studio in the fall of 2007.

Jamie is the fifth Shorter College music graduate to win the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions. Other winners include Jacquelyn Benson-Kenley (’68), Phebe Odom Settles (’71), Indra Thomas (’93) and Theresa Hamm-Smith (’96). These winners all studied voice with longtime Shorter College music faculty member Dr. John Ramsaur.

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