The Music Academy of the West has named mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce as the recipient of its 2026 Alumni Performance Award, sponsored by Kandy Budgor and the Luria/Budgor Family Foundation.

As part of the award, the Academy will present Pierce in her Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall debut on April 15, 2027, featuring the world premiere of a commissioned song cycle by Carlos Simon.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Alumni Performance Award from the Music Academy of the West. My time at the Academy was profoundly formative in my development as a young musician, and to be recognized by an institution that played such a pivotal role in shaping my artistic path is truly meaningful,” Pierce said per an official press release.

Pierce will be joined by pianist Bin Yu Sanford for a program titled “What Remains: The Art of Surrender.” Simon, a GRAMMY-nominated composer and the 2026-27 Composer-in-Residence at the Concertgebouw, is known for music that blends gospel, jazz, and classical influences with themes of history, faith, and identity.

Pierce took third prize at the 2024 Operalia competition and first place at the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, and has received top prizes at the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition and Butler Opera International Voice Competition.