Created by New Orleans Opera board member Debby Hirsch Wood in honor of her late husband, Donald W. Wood Sr., the Wood family has granted funding for the competition to continue in perpetuity in his name. Donald W. Wood, Sr. loved opera and was supportive of NOOA’s educational endeavors.
The Donald W. Wood, Sr. Vocal Competition
The Wood Competition began in 2015 as an entry vehicle for local high schoolers into the professional realm of singing. Past participants have enjoyed regional, national, and international celebrity as young artist professionals. The competition is collaborative between the New Orleans Opera Association, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Tulane University, and Loyola University New Orleans.
Photo: 2019 Honorable Mention, A’Farrah Wallace
The Wood Operatic Advancement Grant.
The Wood Operatic Advancement Grant (the “WOAG”), a branch of the New Orleans Opera Association’s Donald W. Wood Sr. Vocal Competition (the “Wood Competition”), provides financial assistance to the winners of the Wood Competition to help them in pursuit of their career in the performance area of opera while studying in college or post-graduate studies. The WOAG was the idea of Phyllis Treigle, the Vocal Music Chair at the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts, and was set in motion by Debby Hirsch Wood (the Founder and Director of the Wood Competition).
The Grant is open only to winners (first, second, third, or honorable mention) of the Donald W. Wood Sr. Vocal Competition.
Applications will be accepted for the Spring/Summer WOAG no later than midnight, February 13, 2023. The Spring/Summer period runs from February 1 through July 31.
