04/13/2026
Introducing our eight finalists of the 49th Annual Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition!
They will perform on in historic Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, April 18 at 1:30 pm.
Tickets to hear them are still available at the link in bio.
MATTHEW DEXTER, BASS-BARITONE ( ) is from McKinney, Texas. In May of 2026, he expects to graduate with a master’s in early voice from Yale University.
PHILIPPE DURRANT, TENOR () is British-Chinese. He won 2nd prize at the 70th Kathleen Ferrier Awards in London, and is a member of the Carnegie Hall SongStudio and the 13th cohort of Les Arts Florissants’ Le Jardin des Voix.
HAEYEON LEE, SOPRANO ( ) is an HMDK Stuttgart alumna and Bach-Archiv Leipzig scholar, recently appeared as a soloist in Händel’s Dixit Dominus and Mendelssohn’s St. Paul.
RYAN LUSTGARTEN, TENOR () was born in Seattle, WA and is currently based in Manhattan. He received his education at Washington State University, Northwestern University, and the Boston University Opera Institute.
VERONICA ROAN, MEZZO-SOPRANO (.roan) is from Dallas, Texas. She will graduate this May with an MM in Voice, with concentration in Early Music, Oratorio, and Art Song, from the Yale School of Music.
ERINN SENSENIG, SOPRANO () is active as a soloist and professional choral singer performing regularly with leading New York ensembles. She can be heard as soloist on Musica Viva NY’s 2024 Naxos release “And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair.”
DEVONY SMITH, MEZZO-SOPRANO () was GRAMMY®-nominated for Best Classical Vocal Solo and praised by The New York Times for her “sensual” and “strong” voice.
MELANIE SPECTOR, SOPRANO () is based in New York and a proud alumna of the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program and Aspen Music Festival (Fleming Artist).
