Rose Naggar-Tremblay and Simone McIntosh Win First and Second Place in 2021 OSM Vocal Competition
Congratulations to mezzo-sopranos Rose Naggar-Tremblay (BMus’17) and Simone McIntosh (MMus'17, Wirth Vocal Prize Winner 2016-2017), who received first and second place respectively at the 82nd OSM Competition! The 2021 edition, held between September 13 and November 27, took place online enabling the public from coast to coast to access contestants’ performances. Loyal to its mission of supporting younger generations of Canadian musicians, the OSM Competition awarded over $45,000 in cash prizes and provided winners with a whole range of performance and training opportunities.
We fondly remember the performances of both singers in numerous Opéra McGill productions during their time at Schulich — in particular Little Women and Die Fledermaus in which they appeared together.
For her first-place finish, Rose receives a number of prizes, including:
- A $5,000 prize, offered by the Marjorie and Gerald Bronfman Foundation
- The Michèle Paré prize, a $5,000 prize to support the development of a professional career in music offered by Mr. Jean Paré
- A $5,000 prize offered by the OSM Musician’s Association and the OSM Volunteer’s Association
- The ICI Musique prize including a professional audio recording in one of Radio-Canada’s studios and the broadcast on ICI Musique
- The Queen Elisabeth Music Chapelle prize (Belgium) entailing a residency at the Chapelle during the 2023 season under the tutelage of the two masters in residence José van Dam and Sophie Koch, offered with the support of the Ariane Riou and Réal Plourde Foundation
- A Schulich School of Music of McGill University scholarship, covering the full tuition for a performance degree
- A concert with the OSM with musical director Rafael Payare, on January 16, 2022, at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal
- The prize for best interpretation of a Canadian work, a $2,500 prize offered by Mrs. Juliana Pleines
Placing second, Simone takes home a $5,000 prize offered by the Paul A. Fournier Foundation Fund, as well as the $1,500 Lied-Melody prize for best interpretation of a work composed for voice and piano offered by the OSM Volunteer's Association and the OSM.
Bravo to these Schulich alumnae! We can’t wait to hear what’s next.
For all the results and the watch the OSM Competition Awards Ceremony visit the OSM Competition website.
Versatile mezzo-soprano Rose Naggar-Tremblay is commended for the richness of her voice and the intelligence of her interpretations.
Recent opera credits include the title role in Carmen (Sofia Opera and Ballet, October 2021), Dido in Dido and Aeneas (Chœur Vivace, 2019), Duchesse Della Volta in La fille du tambour-major (Opéra Bouffe du Québec, 2019), a premiere performance of Gabrielle in La nuit est ma femme (Théâtre de Longueil/CD Spectacles 2019–2020), Carmen (cover) in Carmen (Opéra de Montréal, 2019), Gertrude Stein in Twenty-Seven (Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, 2019), Giovanna in Rigoletto (Opéra de Montréal, 2018), Zora in Svadba (Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, 2018), and the title role again in Carmen (Halifax Summer Opera Festival, 2017). She has appeared in concert the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah (OPCM, 2019) and Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus (I Musici, 2019), as a soloist in a concert of Mozart arias (Orchestre de l’Agora, 2019), as Anita in a concert version of West Side Story (Orchestre de la Francophonie, 2019), as the alto soloist in Bach’s cantatas BWV 7, BWV 21 and BWV 89 (Serenata at St. John’s, 2018–2019), Vivaldi’s Gloria (I coristi, 2018) and as a soloist in Concert autour de Semele (Festival Montréal baroque, 2018).
Watch Rose Naggar-Tremblay's OSM Competition Finals performance on YouTube.
Hailing from Vancouver, B.C., mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh (she/her) has been described as delivering “sheer vocal agility and lovely rich sound” (Vancouver Sun). Within the operatic repertoire, McIntosh has performed in the roles of Cenerentola (Vancouver Opera), Dorabella (Santa Fe Opera and Canadian Opera Company cover), Cherubino (Burnaby Lyric Opera; SFO cover), Ruggiero (Opera McGill), Hansel (SFO cover), Tamiri (Merola Opera) and La Ciesca (Festival Napa Valley). McIntosh is the recipient of several distinguished awards, including the 2016 Wirth Vocal Prize, First Prize in the 2016 COC Ensemble Studio Competition and First Prize in the 2018 Ottawa Choral Society’s New Discoveries Auditions. McIntosh is currently an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera and is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. She holds a Master of Music from the Schulich School of Music of McGill University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia.
Watch Simone McIntosh’s OSM Competition Finals performance on YouTube
