2026 Carolyn Bailey Argento Vocal Competition Boston, MA
January 2026 Over $15,000 in cash prizes and awards
The Carolyn Bailey Argento Vocal Competition is conducted annually in two divisions: The Artist Division and the Scholarship Division. Preliminary screening and semi-final rounds are heard by submitted audio recording. A maximum of ten finalists are selected in each division to compete in the live, final round of competition. (Please note some revisions to the competition guidelines for 2026, including a new requirement of an aria written since 2000.)
Application deadline: October 1, 2025
Finals notification date: November 25, 2025
Final round in Boston: January 10, 2026
Apply Now! (deadline Oct. 1)
Please note: the Argento Fellowship for Vocal Performance is not open for applications in this competition cycle, but future vocal fellowships will be announced as the funding becomes available, upon degree completion of the current recipients.
Divisions and Eligibility
There are no residency or citizenship requirements. The competition is open to all singers who meet the criteria for the appropriate division:
Scholarship Division
- Open to singers aged 18-24, as of January 10, 2026 who are currently enrolled in or have completed undergraduate or graduate programs, or their equivalent
- Requires four opera arias in contrasting styles and periods:
- at least two languages represented (including English)
- must include one aria written since 2000
- Entry fee: $25
Artist Division
- Open to singers aged 25-40, as of January 10, 2026
- Requires five opera arias in contrasting styles and periods:
- at least three languages represented (including English)
- must include one aria written since 2000
- Entry fee: $50
Guidelines for Both Divisions
Repertoire Requirements
- One of the arias presented may be from an operetta or zarzuela. Oratorio arias and musical theatre selections are not permitted.
- Auditionees are strongly encouraged to include repertoire by composers and librettists from historically underrepresented groups and/or women composers and librettists.
- Note: because of the limited repertoire for countertenor voices, such applicants may submit repertoire with a minimum of two languages represented.
- The competition committee reserves the right to reject unsuitable repertoire.
Preliminary and Semi-Final Rounds
- Applicants must submit two recent audio recordings of two of the arias to be offered in the competition, including appropriate recitatives.
- A cappella recordings will not be accepted.
- Recordings from live performances are permissible.
- Do not submit video files.
- Contestants are strongly urged to use the best possible equipment and location for the recordings, and to verify that the audio files (MP3 or M4A format) play properly before submitting.
- Preliminary screening and semi-final rounds of adjudication in each division are heard by panels of two and three judges, respectively, based on recordings submitted.
Final Round
- The final round of the competition will be held in Boston, MA, on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at the national conference venue, the Fairmont Copley Plaza.
- Finalists will be notified of their advancement by November 25, 2025, and must confirm their participation by November 29, 2025.
- Each finalist will receive a $400 travel stipend at the time of their participation in the finals. All other hotel and travel expenses to the final round of the competition are the responsibility of the singer.
- Finalists may request to make changes to their repertoire lists before December 3, 2025. All requests must be approved and no changes may be made after that date. Both selections submitted for adjudication in the preliminary round must be included in the repertoire list for the Finals.
- Finalists will use accompanists provided by the competition. A rehearsal with the assigned pianist will be scheduled for Friday late afternoon or evening before the finals; finalists must plan their travel accordingly.
- Prize winners will be announced immediately following the competition. The winners will receive their awards at the Awards Banquet the evening of Saturday, January 10, 2026, and the first-place winners of each division will perform a selection of their choosing. Finalists are invited to attend conference sessions and the final banquet as guests of NOA.
- By submitting their application to the competition, applicants grant NOA permission to use their submitted headshots and video/audio recordings or photographs of the competition or winners' recital for promotional purposes on the NOA website or other forms of publicity.
Application Procedure and Submission Information
- The deadline for submission of the online application is October 1, 2025 (11:59pm Pacific)
- Applications to the competition are submitted using the online application form. Before beginning application, please be prepared to provide or upload the following:
- Name, mailing address, and other contact information
- Repertoire list (aria, opera, and composer) of four (Scholarship Division) or five (Artist Division) selections to be offered for the competition. Note carefully the specific repertoire requirements, above.
- Two audio recordings in MP3 or M4A format, with a maximum file size of 15,000kb (15MB). The recording should NOT include a verbal slate that reveals the name of the singer. (TIP: If your sound files exceed the file size limit, you can use a tool such as: https://cloudconvert.com/mp3-converter to reduce the file size without noticeable loss of sound quality). Note that audio files can be extracted from video recordings. Information here describes ways in which that can be done.
- Scanned legal proof of age showing date of birth (e.g. driver's license, passport, etc.). Social security numbers or other sensitive information should be obscured. Allowed formats: PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG
- Headshot for publicity purposes. Allowed formats: JPG, GIF, PNG
- Applicants must pay the entry fee online during the application process in order to submit. The application fee is non-refundable.
- Incomplete applications and applications with unplayable sound recordings or illegible proofs of age will not be processed nor judged.
Awards
Jennifer Lindsay,
2015 Artist Div. Legacy AwardAll finalists will receive a $400 travel stipend at the time of their participation in the finals to help subsidize their travel expenses to the competition.
Finalists in the Scholarship Division compete for three awards: the Nicholas Vrenios Memorial Award of $2500 to the first-place winner, the Constance Eberhart Memorial Award of $1500 for second place, and the Vrenios Family Award for third place of $1000.
Finalists in the Artist Division compete for three awards: the Marjorie Gordon Award of $2500 to the first-place winner, the Marjorie Gordon Award of $1500 to the second place winner and the Clifford Bair Memorial Award of $1000 to the third place winner.
In addition to the above, the Todd Dunan Legacy Award of $1000 is presented to an outstanding contestant representing a racial or ethnic minority, at the discretion of the judges.
Questions
Questions regarding the competition may be addressed to:
Lisa Sylvester, competition co-chair, at ,
Christopher Michel, competition co-chair, at .