Igor Gorin Memorial Award
Since 1993, the Igor Gorin Memorial Award has awarded $394,000 to help 50 individual young vocalists at the start of their operatic career. Igor never forgot his early struggles to survive and launch his career; consequently, his family established this award at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona as a fitting way to honor his memory in providing opportunities for aspiring vocalists.
For gifted vocalists poised to begin successful careers, flying from city to city to audition, and hiring accompanists and coaches is expensive. The award money is unrestricted and may be used for coaching, travel, clothing, living costs, and audition expenses. The 2026 award is up to $12,000 at the discretion of the adjudicating committee.
About Igor Gorin
Mr. Gorin was a Russian refugee who escaped to Vienna in the late 1920s before immigrating to the United States. His star began to rise as a member of the Czechoslovakian Opera Company. Later, he was invited to the United States by a synagogue in Providence, Rhode Island, where he assumed cantorial duties. This began a spectacular career in radio, film, stage, and television.
Earning a reputation as the “Prince of Baritones,” Igor Gorin’s career spanned the 1930’s through the 1960’s. During WWII, he gave more of his time and talent entertaining the troops than anyone in Hollywood. He had a personal motivation, as his father, brother, and sister were in Auschwitz, and Igor desperately wanted to see them freed. Singing to the troops, he later said, was his way of saying “thank you.”
Igor and Mary Gorin retired to Tucson in 1965. Before long, the University of Arizona President Richard Harvill invited Igor to begin a second career teaching opera at the university. In working with the next generation of voices, Igor was reminded of his early struggles to survive and launch his career.
