Henry Drangel has been named the grand prize winner of the 20th annual Sherrill Milnes VOICE Scholarship Competition.

The tenor, who performed “L’ultima canzone” by F. Paolo Tosti to secure the prize, took home a full scholarship to attend the Milnes VOICE Studio in Savannah, Georgia this summer. The master class competition sees singers work directly with baritone legend Sherrill Milnes in front of a live audience.

Drangel was joined in the finals by bass-baritone Marc Cioffi, who performed “Vi ravviso” from Bellini’s “La sonnambula,” and mezzo-soprano Carlee Carpenter, who sang “There is a Garden” from Leonard Bernstein’s “Trouble in Tahiti.” The judging panel included Maria Zouves, president and co-founder of the Milnes VOICE Programs, stage director Fabrizio Melano, and composer Michael Ching.

“This 20th anniversary of the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Scholarship Competition is a truly meaningful milestone for all of us,” said Zouves, per an official press release. “Over the past two decades, we’ve had the privilege of discovering and nurturing extraordinary young artists, and each year the level of talent continues to inspire and impress us.”

Past scholarship recipients include Ethel Trujillo (2025), Congcong Wang (2024), and Benjamin Sokol (2021), who was recently awarded the 2026 Carlisle Floyd Centennial Prize for his work as a promising young vocalist.

VOICExperience, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit behind the Milnes VOICE Programs, was established by Sherrill Milnes and Maria Zouves with a mission to preserve the traditions of great singing and cultivate new audiences for opera.