Fresno State’s Fourth Art and Song Festival provided vocalists and poets endless opportunities to learn, grow and share their talents with composers from across the globe over a virtual setting this year. 

The festival spanned a two-day period, Feb. 26-27, and included multiple vocal master classes, poetry composition and vocal showcase and lectures from world-renowned vocalists. 

Director of the festival and Fresno State assistant voice professor Maria Briggs-Okunev said in the festival’s program that the virtual environment has created new possibilities, dissolving the international boundaries.

This year the Art and Song Festival welcomed members and guest speakers from across the world to collaborate with Fresno State students and the community. 

Participants in attendance spanned from across the globe to tune in, ranging from the U.S. to the U.K. and even to Australia. 

The first day consisted of three vocal master classes, a lecture from German opera singer Anke Hoeppner-Ryan and a poetry and composition competition. 

This was the first year the festival has ever held a poetry and composition showcase, and four Fresno State students were selected as finalists. 

English senior Victoria Monsivaiz and master’s in fine arts creative writing program student Bradley Samore were the two poetry finalists for the event, while graduate student Micah Byers, music composition student Brent Lee and composition and French horn student Allen Gallego were three of the five finalists in the composition finals. 

Each competition had a set of judges to pick the winner for both showcases. 

For the poetry and composition finals, the judges’ panel consisted of professor Benjamin Boone, music composition professor Kenneth Froelich, lecturer Bryce Cannell and professor Brynn Saito of Fresno State. 

Monsivaiz was the first to perform and recited her poem “What is beauty.” In her poem, she said, “The perspective of beauty lies between each individual.” 

Samore was next and read his poems “Flying into Fresno” and “Visiting the Shinzen Friendship Garden.” 

Following the poetry reading, the composition finalists shared their pre-recorded performances.

The judges’ winner of the poetry contest was Samore and the winner of the composition contest was Byers. 

While the audience was able to listen to each of these student’s poems and compositions, audience members were given the opportunity to vote for the winner of the “Audience Choice Best Composition Award,” which was given to Gallego and Byers. 

The following day the festival kicked off with a lecture from Grammy award-winning Canadian opera singer Gerald Finley. 

Finley talked with aspiring vocalists about how to be brave when performing and choosing a piece of music. 

“As artists [we] discover our individuality, reinforce the talents that we have, challenge ourselves, [and]  be the individual that has the voice and the opportunity to share a real-life living composer’s work,” Finley said. 

He continued by sharing with his audience what it means to be brave when presenting composers with your version of a song and encouraged them to challenge themselves to try something new. 

“I want you to be brave, challenge the ideas, break those apparent conventions,” he said. 

“My hope is that the generations behind and to come are looking at international resources for music possibilities. For sharing, for simple material, because as a universal language, which music and singing is, we can all do our bit to try and bring elements of our fellow men into these more condense, direct performances.” 

After Finely’s lecture, another vocal master class was held before the vocal showcase finals occurred. 

A total of 12 students had been chosen from the event’s vocal masterclasses and were set to perform to win the title of judge’s prize and the “Audience Choice Best Vocalists Award.” 

Fresno State students Pardees Fayed, Laura Castro and Joshua Bravo performed virtually in the vocal showcase with an audience of 63 members. 

Julia Nielsen awarded the judges prize to Lana Kaines and Jeremy Boulton both from the Sydney Conservatorium and the audience awarded the “Audience Choice Best Vocalists Award” to Bravo. 

At the conclusion of the event, Fresno State’s Dean of Arts and Humanities Honora Chapman commended those who put together the Arts and Song Festival and thanked those who participated in the program and its audience. 

Shortly after, the event ended with an informational discussion with professor of voice and opera Anthony Radford and director of choral activities Cari Earnhart. 

The two gave aspiring vocalists the opportunity to learn more about what it’s like to study voice at Fresno State and even gave some tips for how to prepare for a successful audition. 

Briggs made sure to thank all of those who helped put the fourth Art and Song Festival together and thanked the teachers, professors and instructors who continue to inspire vocalist students across the world each day.