September 8, 2017
Fargo, N.D. - Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski (NDSU Bachelor of Music 2008) accompanied by Dr. Tyler Wottrich, assistant professor of piano, Challey School of Music, took fourth place in the 2017 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition. The only female vocalist in the finals, she was awarded the Richard Tauber Prize for best performance of Schubert Lieder. Held at Wigmore Hall in London on September 2-7, the competition featured 23 selected duos from 15 countries.
In March, Ms. Oswoski was awarded the 2nd prize award in the prestigious 2017 Das Lied International Song Competition, where she was also accompanied by Dr. Wottrich. Following the Wigmore Hall event, the duo were invited to perform on Sept. 8 on the prestigious BBC radio program “In Tune.”
Ms. Osowski is an award-winning soloist and chamber musician who performs throughout the United States and Europe. Earlier in 2017, she won the Saengerbund Awards German Vocal Competition in Houston, and previously was a finalist in the 2015 Das Lied competition. She sings with the Rose Ensemble and Seraphic Fire, internationally touring vocal ensembles, and she is the co-founder of and serves as the associate artistic director of the annual Source Song Festival in Minneapolis. She graduated from North Dakota State University in 2008 with a bachelor of music in vocal performance, and received her master of arts degree in voice from the University of Iowa in 2010. She is a native of Carrington, N.D.
Dr. Wottrich has developed a career spanning a broad spectrum of musical genres including solo piano, chamber music, ballet, opera and gospel. An alumnus of Ensemble ACJW (a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, the Weill Music Institute and the New York City Department of Education), he performs frequently in such venues as Carnegie's Zankel and Weill Halls and the Juilliard School. Dr. Wottrich received the 2011 Emerson Quartet's Ackerman Prize for chamber music, and is the founder and artistic director of the annual NDSU Chamber Music Festival. He developed the graduate collaborative piano program at NDSU’s Challey School of Music and teaches applied piano as well as music theory and analysis courses.
Since its foundation in 1997, the International Song Competition has grown in status and prestige, and continues to attract singers and pianists from around the world, aged 33 or under, who are keen to embark on significant recital careers. Providing an invaluable opportunity for feedback and guidance from a jury consisting of the highest calibre of internationally renowned artists and directors from the world’s elite concert halls and music festivals, the Competition also promotes the exchange of ideas between artists from all over the world, and presents an important platform for public performance and the expansion of repertoire.