Here you’ll find the official announcement, background information (rules), and application form.

This year we provide some art song samples in English, German, French, and Italian in downloadable PDFs of sheet music, recordings of the accompaniments without singing, and recordings of singers.

These are just suggestions, you may choose ANY Lied of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Strauss etc. or ANY mélodie of Berlioz, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc etc., or ANY art song of English composers such as Vaughan-Williams, Quilter, Britten, or American composers such as Barber, Copland, Ives, Rorem etc.

If you have a question about a song that you’re considering, just contact us. If you don’t enter with an art song, your entry won’t be considered.

But DO enter! This is your chance for limited fame and guaranteed no fortune in the fabulous world of art song performance. Really, the art song repertoire is vast and beautiful, so choose a song, learn it, practice it with your pianist and record it for the 11th Annual Art Song Festival. Good luck!

Art Song Festival Mission

The Hawaii Art Song Festival Committee believes that an Art Song Festival is a viable tool for the appreciation and propagation of this form of music. Since 1996 we have co-sponsored the Art Song Festival in Hawaii, providing the opportunity for singers of excellence to be acknowledged and fulfilling mission to encourage the study, performance and appreciation of art song.

Voice teachers, their students, choral conductors, chorus members, even octogenarians and teenagers have participated in the Festival. Grants have enabled us to record Neighbor Island entrants who would otherwise have been unable to participate; in 2002, two of the four winners were from Maui. A great number of Festival winners have gone on to study and perform all over the world.

Each year, Hawaii Public Radio’s Great Songs broadcasts the vocal entries from the semi-finalists, as well as the shared recital of the four winners. Audio excerpts from past Winners Recitals are available on the Lehmann Foundation’s Song! website: http://lottelehmann.org/artsong.

The Hawaii Art Song Festival has generated tremendous interest about the individual singers, and art song in general. There are not only many talented performers of this genre in Hawai’i, but also audiences eager to hear them.

There are many who make the festival happen.  We wish to thank Communications Pacific Inc., Janet Cooke, Mae Z. Orvis Foundation, Bauer Foundation, and the Art Song Festival Committee. This year's Festival is dedicated to the memory of Nancy Bannick, President of the Art Song Festival Committee.

The following songs are only suggestions for those who may not have sheet music of their own.

(PC: to save the files right click the link and select Save Target As...)