Gabriella Reyes de Ramirez is the ninth winner of the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Humanitarian Award.

The soprano was given the award on Feb. 11, 2019 at the Belmont Room at the Metropolitan Opera.

“It is an honor to receive an award from philanthropists who believe in my ability to illuminate people’s lives through opera. Support from foundations like the Hildegard Behrens Foundation help careers of singers tremendously, and I cannot be more grateful,” Reyes stated.

Reyes de Ramirez has had a whirlwind 2018-19 season that has seen her not only appear with The Met’s Summer Recital Series, but has also featured her on the very stage of the Met in a recent run of “Aida,” alongside Anna Netrebko and Anita Rachvelischvili; she appeared as the High Priestess. She also appeared in performances of “Gianni Schicchi” alongside Plácido Domingo.

Reyes is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and Boston University and was a finalist at the 2017 National Council Auditions. Right after that, she was invited to join the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and then went on to perform with Domingo and Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles. She also recently appeared with the New York Choral Society at Carnegie Hall.

The soprano follows in the footsteps of such winners as Layla Claire, Emalie Savoy, Ying Fang, Michelle Bradley, Hyesang Park, Mario Chang, Kang Wang, and Alexey Lavrov.

In addition to the awarding of Reyes di Ramirez, the Foundation also announced the expansion of its Advisory Board, which will now include Ellington Management Group CEO Michael Vranos, Entrepreneur Richard Strother, and Met Opera Assistant Conductor Bryan Wagorn.

The Hildegard Behrens Foundation is a co-founder and principal sponsor The Global Leaders program, which is a nine-month Executive Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Cultural Agency, Teaching Artistry, Civic Leadership, and Organizational Management. Each year, the Foundation awards four of the most exception graduates with the distinguished Humanitarian Entrepreneur Prize.