CFSA is pleased to announce that Adia Evans has been selected as the 2024 Igor Gorin Memorial Award recipient!
The Igor Gorin Memorial Award was established in 1987 by Mary Gorin to honor the memory of her husband, Igor Gorin, a world-renowned opera singer.
Since 1993, the Igor Gorin Memorial Award has awarded over $370,000 to support young vocalists at the start of their operatic careers. This unrestricted award is given out once a year to help gifted vocalists poised to begin successful careers with expenses associated with accompanists, coaches, and auditioning as they transition from school into professional careers.
Adia shared, “Being honored with this award is a humbling affirmation of my journey so far in this field. It is so special to be seen, not only in your talent and potential but also in your work, passion, and dedication in the face of a challenging and competitive career. I am deeply grateful to the judges and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona for recognizing me and for their commitment to nurturing the arts. This award will allow me to continue growing and sharing beautiful music with audiences. I am so grateful.”
Learn more about the Igor Gorin Memorial Award here.
About Adia Evans
Praised for her “big, beautifully projected voice with an attractive edge and sparkle” (Arts Knoxville), soprano Adia Evans is making her mark on the opera and concert world. Evans has most recently performed with Santa Fe Opera, Merola Opera Program, Fort Worth Opera, Dallas Opera Guild, Opera Columbus, Tulsa Opera, Knoxville Opera, among others.
A formidable vocal competitor, Evans won an Encouragement Award from the 2024 George and Nora London Foundation Competition and 3rd Place of the Midwest Region in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. This season, on the international front, she traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia, to compete as the sole representative of the USA in the Opera Crown Competition finals with the Tbilisi State Orchestra. Evans was a 2024 recipient of the Igor Gorin Memorial Award, recipient of the prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, and a 2022 William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award. In 2023, she was awarded 2nd Place and the Soprano Prize in the George Shirley Vocal Competition, 3rd Place in the Washington International Competition, 1st Place in the Dallas Opera Guild Lonestar Vocal Competition, and 3rd Place in the Midwest Region of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In previous years, she was 1st Place and Audience Choice in the James Toland Vocal Competition, as well as several others. This spring, Evans will compete in Dallas Opera’s National Vocal Competition.
Adia will be joining the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center Ensemble for the 2024-2025 season. This season she made her debut at The Cliburn in Recital with Jake Heggie, her debut with Dayton Philharmonic as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah, and her debut at Annapolis Opera as the First Lady in The Magic Flute. Later this season, she will perform with Borderland Arts Foundation as Mimi in La Bohème and with the National Orchestral Institute as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop.
Visit Adia Evans’ website to watch additional performances and learn more!