The winners of the 64th annual Musical America Artist of the Year Awards have been announced.

Conductor and soprano Barbara Hannigan has been named Artist of the Year for 2025. Hannigan made her conducting debut at age 40 at the Chatelet in Paris. She currently serves as the Principal Guest Conductor of Göteborgs Symfoniker, the Principal Guest Conductor of Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, the Associate Artist of the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Reinbert de Leeuw Professor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music London. Starting in the 2024-25 season, Hannigan will step into the role of Principal Guest Conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and in August 2026, she will become the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Some of Hannigan’s other accolades include a Grammy Award, Order of Canada, Officier des Arts et des Lettres in France, Gramophone Magazine’s 2022 Artist of the Year, and Germany’s Faust Award.

Jake Heggie received the Composer of the Year award. Heggie is the composer of ten full-length operas, such as “Dead Man Walking,” “Great Scott” and “Moby-Dick.” He has also composed nearly 300 art songs, as well as chamber, choral, and orchestral works. In the 2024-25 season, his premieres include “Earth 2.0,” a monodrama commissioned by Fort Worth Symphony, with Robert Spano conducting, and a collaborative work with Margaret Atwood and baritone Joshua Hopkins “Songs for Murdered Sisters,” among others.

The Vocalist of the Year is soprano Angel Blue. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner, 2020 Beverly Sills Award recipient, and the 2022 Richard Tucker Award winner. Blue’s will be heard next in the title role at the Metropolitan Opera in “Aida.” Later in the season she performs at Bayerischer Staatsoper, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and in several solo recitals.

James Robinson is the Director of the Year for 2025. Robinson is the newly appointed General and Artistic Director of Seattle Opera. Robinson has directed at least 75 new productions including Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” at the Metropolitan Opera and Bizet’s “Carmen” at Seattle Opera. He has also directed over 30 world premieres throughout his career.