What is FoCTO?
FoCTO is an independent non-profit organisation aimed at raising and distributing philanthropic funds in support of local operatic talent.
It is made up of a mixed group of local people from all over the Cape area, who share a passion for music, singers and imaginative stage-production and who want to see our special art-form thrive in these challenging times.
FoCTO continues to fund talented students to pursue an education at Opera UCT, under the leadership of Prof Jeremy Silver. FoCTO has supported many students from Opera UCT for various programmes, both in South Africa and abroad.
The 2025 Bursary
FoCTO is holding a competition at Opera UCT in search of three prize winners to share this year's bursary. In 2024, we instituted a new prize being offered as part of the FoCTO Bursary Competition called the “Music of Note” Prize which is awarded to a singer who is not necessarily one of the finalists, but who shows immense promise at an earlier stage of their journey.
The competition will take place in 2 rounds. The first internal round will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 18 March (to be confirmed). The second round in front of a larger panel will take place as a public event in the Baxter Concert Hall on Tuesday 25 March at 7pm.
Who is eligible?
The competition is open for students in their 3rd year or above.
What are the criteria?
We ask you to prepare 3 operatic arias, of which we will probably hear two at the first round. You will choose your first aria, and we will make a choice from your other two arias as to what you will sing next.
CLOSING DATE:
Please complete this online entry form before Friday 14 March 2025
PRELIMINARY ROUND: Tuesday 18 March 2025, C6, from 2pm onwards
FINAL ROUND: Tuesday 25 March 2025, Baxter Concert Hall, 7pm
The South African College of Music hereby invites applications for the FoCTO Bursary Awards competition. This competition is open to any full-time classical voice students at the SACM who:
are at least in their third year of study
Preliminary Round:
We ask you to prepare 3 operatic arias, of which we will probably hear two at the first round. You will choose your first aria, and we will make a choice from your other two arias as to what you will sing next.
Final Round: Each finalist will perform 2 operatic arias.
2024
1st Vuyisa Xipu, tenor
2nd Molly Dzangare, soprano
Joint 3rd Zizipho Funzo, soprano / Mkhanyiseli Dyantyi, tenor
Music of Note prize: Sisa Mjekela, baritone
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
The competition is adjudicated by a panel of widely recognised and experienced professional musicians and members of FoCTO. Previous adjudicators have included: Gloria Kaminski, Christine Crouse, Leslie Petrik, Prof Jeremy Silver, Janel Speelman-van Rooyen.
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