George Shirley Vocal Competition

African American Vocal Repertoire

May 17-19, 2024 | University of Michigan

Apply

Help us celebrate our founder and leader, Mr. George Shirley. In honor of his 90th birthday we want to reach 90 applications, so we are extending the deadline for submission to March 10, 2024 and April 18, 2024 for the international division. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be apart of the celebration. We award over $65,000 in scholarships across 5 divisions.

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2023 GSVC in Review

You can view all of our video content from the 2023 competition via our youtube channel. We created a 2023 GSVC playlist that has the welcome concert, winners concert, composer and international competitions and masterclass content.

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Donate

Help us to honor Mr. Shirley by donating to the competition. Your donation will help support aspiring young vocalists, rising composers and the preservation of the African American vocal repertoire with tax-deductible donations to the GSVC.

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About George Shirley

George Shirley’s illustrious career has spanned more than five decades and has included national and international recognitions. He has dedicated his life’s work to giving voice to the powerful African American vocal repertoire. Mr. Shirley’s vision provides the mission for the George Shirley Vocal Competition.

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2023 GSVC Winners

Congratulations to all of our High School, Collegiate, Pre-Professional and International performers and composers! View the YouTube playlist of the 2023 GSVC:  Placement Prizes High School Division Sarah Wright, Soprano, […]

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Song must reflect meaning, emotion, and truth. In order to successfully impart these elements to our audience in performance, we must already have secured our ability to do so without losing control of ourselves and being overcome by our emotions. In order to move our audience to the brink, we must be able to dip into our sea of experience without being inundated in the flood.

-George Shirley