International Song Competition: Preliminary Stage – Day 1

Candidates each perform a 15-minute programme in the Kohn Foundation International Song Competition, which recognises the song tradition as a whole and requires contestants to sing in at least three languages. It also honours the Lied's place at the heart of the song repertoire and celebrates the Shakespearean stature of Schubert in the genre. The distinguished jury this year consists of Wigmore Hall Director John Gilhooly as Chairman, Bernarda Fink, Jeremy Geffen, Soile Isokoski, Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau, Thomas Quasthoff, Richard Stokes, Sarah Walker, William Lyne, and Sir Ralph Kohn. (Audiences are invited to attend the preliminary and semi-final rounds, as well as the grand finale and prize-giving on Thurs September 8, which includes an interval supper.)