The National Opera Association has launched the Dominick and Carolyn Bailey Argento Fellowships, two new fellowship programs to support graduate studies in opera composition and vocal performance.

Through an endowment provided by Argento and his wife, soprano Carolyn Bailey, two recipients will gain full tuition and living expenses, up to $50k per year each. Applications will be accepted through October 15, 2021, and will be awarded to one composer and one vocalist. The fellowship will support up to two years of study for students pursuing a master’s degree and three years for students pursuing a Doctoral degree at an accredited U.S. institution.

“By endowing the Dominick Argento Fellowship for Opera Composition, my friend and mentor Dominick Argento – this great American opera composer – will continue to unlock for future generations of composers of stage and voice the kinds of special opportunities that will help them develop their technical skill and artistic expression, so new and meaningful stories will continue to be told through music,” says adjudication panelist and composer Juliana Hall. “I can’t wait to see the future of opera unfold, thanks to the very same care and generosity Dominick showed me all those years ago.”

There are no residency or nationality requirements for this fellowship. The awards will be administered by NOA through the Tulsa Community Foundation, with the finalists to be announced in December, and the winners to be announced in January 2022 at the NOA’s national conference in St. Augustine, Florida.