Schmidt Vocal Arts has announced Hana Reel of The Woodlands, Texas, as the first place winner of its 2026-27 Texas Regional Competition, held Oct. 10 at Baylor University in Waco.

Robin Davis of Melissa, Texas, placed second, and Adithya Muthukumar of Bellaire, Texas, placed third. The three prizewinners received $2,500, $2,000 and $1,500, respectively, and advance to the organization’s National Competition at Sarasota Opera in June 2027. They are also eligible to apply for college scholarships through Schmidt Vocal Arts, which awards more than $500,000 each year to its applicants.

In addition to the top three, the finalists were Samyukth Ayyar of Frisco, Navya Desai of Farmers Branch, Alanna Eaves of Montgomery, Chloe Mitchell of Grand Prairie, Dylan Ochoa of San Angelo, Leyla Petrovic of Spring and Seth Rodriguez of Cedar Park. Each of the finalists received $500 award for advancing.

Three singers were chosen to take part in a master class with the judges before the final round. Five singers received $250 cash prizes: Encouragement Awards went to Zynah Basaria of Sugar Land, Cooper Campbell of Montgomery, Tate James of Montgomery and Rodriguez, while Ochoa received the Most Promising Sophomore award.

The jury for this edition of the competition featured soprano Alison Acord, Teaching Professor of Voice at Miami University; bass baritone Seth Keeton, Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Utah; and mezzo soprano Jamie Van Eyck, Associate Professor of Voice and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at Baylor University.