Audrey Tromp of Brookfield, Ill., won first place at the Schmidt Vocal Arts Illinois Regional Competition, held Oct. 4 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Tromp is a student at Lyons Township High School.

Zach Heise of Oakton, Va., took second place, and Belle Thommen of Elgin, Ill., a student at Interlochen Arts Academy, took third. The three prizewinners received $2,500, $2,000 and $1,500, respectively, and advance to the National Competition at Sarasota Opera in June 2027. They are also eligible to apply for need based college scholarships from Schmidt Vocal Arts.

The jury selected 10 singers for the final round, each of whom received $500. The other seven finalists were Ellery Badros, Braeden Cox, Kai Hanna, Sophia Kaushik, Luna Kup, Mia Shepel and Sora Williams.

Three singers took part in a master class with the judges before the final round. Zhen Xu, Ivy Park and Viraj Tathavadekar received Encouragement Awards, Abigail Farrar received the Broadway Bound Award and Raegan Smith received the Most Promising Sophomore Award, each worth $250.

The jury consisted of mezzo-soprano Karen Brunssen, co-chair of Northwestern’s Department of Music Performance; baritone Andrew Ryker, professor of voice at Georgia State University; and mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, former Distinguished Rudy Professor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

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