Elisabeth Lundstrom was the final person to perform in Stetson’s Giffin Competition for junior music performance majors, waiting two-and-a-half hours while she watched her competition.

“I was very nervous,” admitted Lundstrom, a mezzo-soprano, “but I also found it very comforting. We weren’t really thinking of it as a competition but more of a celebration, lifting each other up.”

The voice performance major was “pretty surprised” when she was awarded third place and a check for $500. “I always loved to perform as a kid, and it really made me happy. But I’ve made a lot of progress at Stetson,” she said.

The 15 students who competed in April are enrolled as voice principals (BM, BA, BME) in the School of Music. Additionally, they are enrolled in an Applied Voice Course, have a minimum GPA of 2.5 during the semester of the competition, and have the permission of their voice instructor. 

The students performed two compositions in contrasting languages, including one art song and either one aria from an opera/oratorio or an additional art song. There was a 10-minute time limit for the competitors.

“It was very nerve-wracking,” commented soprano Madiann Rivera-Velez, second-place winner of $1,000. “We hear about the Giffin Competition the minute we get to Stetson as freshmen, so we knew it was going to be our turn to perform one day.”

The Orlando native chose to attend Stetson after a High-Notes Visit, which allows high school juniors and seniors to experience the School of Music by shadowing students and attending classes. “I feel very honored to be chosen as a winner,” she added. “Everyone did incredibly well on the night of the competition. It was wonderful to see how much we’ve all progressed.”

First-place winner Alyssa Pimentel, who received $4,000, was “nervous up until the day of the competition.” “But when I woke up,” she said, “I just felt calm and happy. I was so excited to share the two pieces I selected with everyone.”

A soprano, she found her voice as her instrument after playing the clarinet.

“I wanted to audition for a musical in high school, so I took a voice lesson,” Pimentel said. “My teacher asked, ‘I know your interest is in musical theater, but have you ever considered opera?’ I hadn’t, but when I started listening to opera, it felt like me. I feel very strongly that if you find an art career that feels like you, that’s what you need to pursue.”

That decision turned out to be a good one.

What’s the Giffin Competition?

The Giffin Competition is named for Harold Milne Giffin, who joined Stetson’s faculty in 1935. In his first year on the Stetson faculty, he revived the annual presentation of Handel’s oratorio “The Messiah,” which was performed on campus every other year by the Concert Choir during his Stetson career. Giffin earned wide recognition as an outstanding choral conductor. After four years under his direction, the Glee Club (now the Concert Choir) was selected by the National Federated Music Clubs as one of the 12 outstanding clubs in the nation. Giffin began choir tours in 1936, and during his tenure, the group traveled to New York, Chicago, Fort Worth, Dallas, Washington and Atlanta. A highlight was the choir’s 1967 New York appearance in Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center.

In addition to conducting the Concert Choir, Giffin taught voice, diction, oratorio and song literature. He also directed 18 full-length operas and musicals in the university’s Stover Theater.

Giffin served as a judge of vocal groups in contests and festivals throughout the state. The Stetson competition continues to recognize outstanding vocal performance.

-Renee Garrison