Handel Aria Competition

The annual Handel Aria Competition returns with an evening of Baroque music performed by seven remarkable finalists from around the U.S. Each singer will present two arias accompanied by the Madison Bach Musicians, led by Trevor Stephenson. The competition provides a significant opportunity for these rising opera stars; the winner receives a $7,000 grand prize and each singer’s work is preserved on video and posted on YouTube. Find ticket and livestream links at handelariacompetition.org.

media release: We are delighted to introduce our finalists for 2025! This year’s competition will take place on Friday, August 8 in Grace Episcopal Church in Madison. In person and livestream tickets will go on sale in July -  you won’t want to miss this evening of Handel music.

These seven singers will each be performing two arias, accompanied by the Madison Bach Musicians under the direction of Trevor Stephenson.  Please take a moment to visit their websites - they are all already exceptionally accomplished!

Elisse Albian, soprano  elissealbian.com  

Fredy Bonilla, baritone  fredybonilla.com

Sam Denler, tenor samdenler.com

Paulina Francisco, soprano paulinafrancisco.com

Morgan Mastrangelo, tenor  morganmastrangelo.com

Trevor Scott, tenor trevorscotttenor.com

Jeremy Weiss, baritone   jeremyweissperformer.com

This year we have increased our cash prizes for 2025 to $7,000, thanks in part to donations in memory of our co-founder Dean Schroeder. As always, our competition is unique in that we will be providing all finalists with home hospitality and a travel grant of up to $600 so they can afford to come here to participate. The singers are always appreciative of the fact that they are accompanied on period instruments by the Madison Bach Musicians, and that they receive high quality videos that are posted on our YouTube channel and can be used for future auditions. We’re pleased to note that the videos from the past four Handel Aria Competitions have been viewed some 50,000 times by lovers of Baroque music around the world.