THE 2026 GEORGE LONDON AWARD WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED

Sopranos Tiffany Choe, Adia Evans, and Anna Thompson; Baritones Trevor

Haumschilt-Rocha and Korin Thomas-Smith; and Bass-Baritone Nicholas Newton

Each Win $12,000 Top Award at the 54th George and Nora London Foundation

Competition

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New York, NY – February 20, 2026 – The winners of the 54th George and Nora London Foundation

Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers, one of the opera world’s oldest and most

prestigious competitions, were announced at the conclusion of the competition’s final round this

evening, which took place at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City.

The event is now available to watch on YouTube.

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A total of $80,000 was given in awards, announced by George and Nora London Foundation President

John Hauser. Of the singers (selected from 180 applicants) heard over three days of semi-final rounds,

ten were selected as finalists to perform at Merkin Hall. Of these, six were named winners of George

London Awards of $12,000 each. The remaining four singers were awarded George London

Encouragement Awards of $2,000 each.

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George and Nora London Foundation President John Hauser, fourth from right, and pianist John Arida (fourth from

left, with 2026 George London Award winners (left to right) Korin Thomas-Smith, Nicholas Newton, Trevor

Haumschilt-Rocha, Tiffany Choe, Adia Evans, and Anna Thompson. Photo by Beth Bergman (download hi-res

photo).T he 2026 George London Awards Winners Are Announced. Each finalist performed one selection, and the winners were announced to the audience immediately after the judges’ deliberations. This year’s judges were mezzo-soprano Susan Quittmeyer; tenor Dimitri Pittas; bass James Morris; Matthew Horner, Senior Vice President of IMG Artists and London Foundation board member; and Gayletha Nichols, soprano and former Executive Director of the Metropolitan Opera

National Council Auditions, who chaired the jury. John Arida was the competition’s pianist.

GEORGE LONDON AWARDS ($12,000 each):

Tiffany Choe, soprano (29, Orange County, CA), who sang “Senza mamma” from Puccini’s Suor Angelica – George London Award in memory of Lloyd E. Rigler, sponsored by The Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E.

Deutsch Foundation, James D. Rigler, President Adia Evans, soprano (32, Baltimore, MD), who sang “Es gibt ein Reich” from Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos – George London Award in memory of Leonie Rysanek, sponsored by Thurmond Smithgall Anna Thompson, soprano (26, Rochester, MI), who sang “Dis-moi que je suis belle” from Massenet’s Thaïs – George London Award in memory of Mary Palumbo, sponsored by Donald Palumbo Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha, baritone (26, San Diego, CA), who sang “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen” from Korngold’s Die tote Stadt – George London Award in memory of Lawrence E. Deutsch, sponsored by The Lloyd E. Rigler and Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, James D. Rigler, President Korin Thomas-Smith, baritone (29, Toronto, Canada), who sang “Come un’ape ne’ giorni d’aprile” from Rossini’s La Cenerentola – George London Award in memory of Norma Newton, sponsored by the George and Nora London Foundation for Singers Nicholas Newton, bass-baritone (32, San Diego, CA), who sang “Aleko’s Cavatina” from Rachmaninoff’s Aleko – George London Award in memory of Kirsten Flagstad, sponsored by the New York Community Trust and the George and Nora London Foundation for Singers

GEORGE LONDON ENCOURAGEMENT AWARDS ($2,000 each):

Jennifer Robinson, soprano (23, Lakeland, FL) – Award in memory of Dr. Herbert Appel, sponsored by

Susan Appel Grace Ryan, mezzo-soprano (25, Bartlett, IL) – Award in memory of J. Donald McNamara, sponsored by Lynn Broward McNamara Maiya Williams, mezzo-soprano (26, Hutto, TX) – Award in memory of Nora London, sponsored by Ene Riisna Matthew Sink, tenor (29, Las Vegas, NV) – Award in memory of Louis D’Angelo, sponsored by Robert Lombardo Since 1971, the foundation’s annual competition has given more than 300 awards, and a total of more than $2 million, to an outstanding roster of young American and Canadian opera singers who have gone on to international stardom – the list of past winners includes Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, ChristineThe 2026 George London Awards Winners Are Announced – Page 3 of 5 Goerke, Ryan Speedo Green, Catherine Malfitano, James Morris, Eric Owens, Dimitri Pittas, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Neil Shicoff, Dawn Upshaw, and Willard White, to name just a few. As The New York Times noted, “this prestigious competition … can rightfully claim to act as a springboard for major careers in opera.” The George and Nora London Foundation will present two winners of the 2025 George London Award in recital: Shelén Hughes Camacho, soprano, and Joseph Parrish, baritone, on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 7:30 pm with Amir Farid, piano, at Merkin Hall. The singers will present a program focusing on the lesser- performed gems – arias, songs, and duets – of some of our most beloved composers. George London and the George and Nora London Foundation for Singers George London (1920-1985) was one of the greatest opera stars of the 20th century, who blazed a trail for American singers on the international stage and created some of the most indelible interpretations of prominent bass-baritone roles. In his later years, he devoted much of his time and energy to the support and nurturing of young singers, in partnership with his wife, Nora. See the full list of George London Award winners: https://www.georgeandnoralondon.org/competition.html In addition to the annual competition, the George and Nora London Foundation also presents a recital series to give grantees exposure and experience, and, in many cases, a New York recital debut. The foundation also awards scholarships to promising high school students attending the pre-college program of The Juilliard School, a program now in its 12th year.

www.georgeandnoralondon.org

2026 George London Award Winners

Tiffany Choe, soprano (29, Orange County, CA) Korean-American soprano Tiffany Choe, born and raised in Southern California, is a graduate of Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artists program and a recent Sullivan Award winner. She returns this season to sing Anne Putnam in The Crucible with WNO. Last season, she appeared as Marzelline in Fidelio and Juliet in the Young Artists production of Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. In 2022–23 she was an Arizona Opera Pullin Studio Artist, where she sang Pamina in The Magic Flute. Other roles include Mimi in La bohème, and Magda in La rondine, and she appeared at Ravinia as First Lady in Die Zauberflöte. www.tiffanychoesoprano.com Adia Evans, soprano (32, Baltimore, MD) is a second-year soprano in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center. In Lyric's 2024-25 Season, Evans sang Theresa Alvarez in The Listeners, Girlfriend 2 in Blue, and Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto. Evans has performed with Santa Fe Opera, Merola Opera Program, Fort Worth Opera, Dallas Opera Guild, Opera Columbus, Tulsa Opera, and Knoxville Opera, among others. After participating in the 2025 Britten Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, England, she presented a recital for the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago and will appear in Lyric’s 2025-26 production of El último sueño de Frida y Diego. A formidable vocal competitor, Evans most recently competed as a semifinalist in Barcelona at the Concourso Tenor Viñas and was named winner of a 2025 Lola Fletcher Award by the American Opera Society of Chicago. Her numerous honors include 2024 Winner of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, Encouragement Award winner from the George London Foundation Competition, Tulsa District Winner, and Third Place in the Midwest Region of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, First Place in the 2023 Dallas Opera Lonestar Vocal Competition, and 2022 recipient of the prestigious William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award. Evans holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Maryland, CollegeThe 2026 George London Awards Winners Are Announced – Page 4 of 5 Park, and a Master of Music degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as a part of the Knoxville Opera Studio. She is also a proud alumna of the Baltimore School for the Arts. www.adiaevans.com Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha, baritone (26, San Diego, CA) Mexican-American baritone Trevor Haumschilt- Rocha is a graduate of San Diego State University and The Juilliard School in New York. He won first prize at the International Singing Competitions Giulio Gari in New York and Opera at Florham in New Jersey, was runner-up at the Neue Stimmen competition in 2024, and received scholarships from the Richard Tucker Foundation and the Jensen Foundation. In the summer of 2024, he was a Renée Fleming Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where he performed the roles of Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Peter (Hänsel und Gretel). In 2025, he participated in the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival and made his debut there in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s production of Macbeth under the musical direction of Philippe Jordan. He was also featured in a concert performance of Andrea Chénier conducted by Marco Armiliato. Since autumn 2024, Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha has been a member of the opera studio at the Vienna Volksoper. There he made his European debut as Duke Robert in Lotte Beer's production of Jolanthe und der Nussknacker and appeared in Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, and Jonathan Dove’s Das verzauberte Schwein. In the 2025-26 season in Vienna, he will perform as Morales in Carmen, Falke in Die Fledermaus, and Emperor Overall in the Ullmann and Mozart evening KaiserRequiem. He made his debut at the Zurich Opera House in December 2025 as Monterone in Rigoletto.

www.trevorhaumschiltrocha.com

Nicholas Newton, bass-baritone (32, San Diego, CA) Hailed for his “polished vocal technique” and “heart-tugging emotional communication” (San Diego Story), Nicholas Newton garners attention as a dynamic and compelling bass-baritone in the classical music world. Nicholas makes his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2025-26 season in Rolando Villazón's acclaimed production of La Sonnambula. Return engagements include the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning writer Michael R. Jackson's first opera, Complications in Sue, at Opera Philadelphia, the American operatic premiere of Robert Wilson’s production of Handel's Messiah with Houston Grand Opera, and Romeo and Juliet with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Concert performances of the season include a return to the Salzburg Festival in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux with Utopia led by Peter Sellars and Teodor Currentzis, a tour of Handel's Messiah with Jonathan Cohen and the Handel & Haydn Society, and a Kennedy Center recital debut as the 2025 Winner of the Marian Anderson Vocal Award recognizing a young American singer in opera, oratorio, or recital repertory. www.nicholasnewton.com Korin Thomas-Smith, baritone (29, Toronto, Canada) Named one of CBC Music’s 30 hot classical musicians under 30, Canadian baritone Korin Thomas-Smith, praised for his “imposing baritone” (Wall Street Journal), has been carving a career across North America. The 2025-26 season sees his return to the Canadian Opera Company as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, making his debut at the Dallas Opera in The Little Prince, and joining Wolf Trap Opera as a Filene Artist, performing as Dandini in La Cenerentola. In the summer of 2025, Korin made his debut at the Santa Fe Opera, performing as Schaunard in La bohème and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. In competition, Korin was the 1st Prize and Audience Choice winner of the Rumbold Competition at the Edmonton Opera, and has been an award winner at the Concours OSM, Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, the George and Nora London Foundation, and Opera Index, among others. Korin is an alumnus of Yale University and the University of Toronto and is a recent graduate of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio program.

www.korinthomassmith.com

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Anna Thompson, soprano (26, Rochester, MI), is currently a first-year Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts. She holds a M.M. from Rice University and a B.M. from the Eastman School of Music. RecentThe 2026 George London Awards Winners Are Announced – Page 5 of 5

roles include Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Countess Madeleine (Capriccio), Alcina (Alcina), Marie Antoinette (The Ghosts of Versailles), Suor Angelica, (Suor Angelica), Rosalinde (cover) (Die Fledermaus), Female Chorus (cover) (The Rape of Lucretia), and Mary Johnson (cover) (Fellow Travelers). She recently made her Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra (Niagara Symphony), and debuted at the Bard Music Festival (Mariken de Nimègue). Anna was named a 2026 National Semifinalist in The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a 2025 Sullivan Foundation Award Winner, and she advances to the finals of the 2026 Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition. She is an alumna of the Apprentice Program for Singers at The Santa Fe Opera, the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Aspen Music Festival & School, and next summer she joins the Merola

Opera Program. https://annamariethompson.com/

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