Congratulations to the winners of our
2026 NYC songSLAM competition!!!
2026 NYC songSLAM Live Event
First Place
TEAM 14 - EN EL BOSQUE DE LOS SUEÑOS
(text by Adolfo Montaño Vivas)
Sasha Gutiérrez Montaño, soprano, Natasha Gwirceman, pianist & Santiago Gutiérrez Montaño, composer
Second Place
TEAM 4 - THAT’S ALL I REMEMBER
Erin Reppenhagen, mezzo-soprano, Austin Philemon, pianist, Thomas Palmer, composer & Susan Bywaters, poet
Third Place (tie)
TEAM 2 - RED, RED SKY (text by Mary MacLane)
Melaina Mills, soprano, Giulia Magarelli, pianist & Sophie Kastner, composer
TEAM 9 - WINTER STARS (text by Sara Teasdale)
Michelle Trovato, soprano & Clint Borzoni, composer & pianist
Virtual songSLAM & 2026 Commission Prizewinner
Congratulations to all the participating teams in the Virtual songSLAM!
Together, the teams raised over $4600 in support of the future of art song!
#livesongandprosper
First Place — Team 12
Second Place — Team 8
Third Place — Team 2
We were absolutely thrilled by the level of the songs and performers in this years' 10th Annual NYC songSLAM. It was very hard to pick from the plethora of worthy pieces, but one stood out for its imagination, wit, and text painting, and we are excited to award the commission prize to Dina Pruzhansky.
—Martha Guth &
Erika Switzer
Team 1 • To An Elephant
Jack Frederick, composer
Aneesha Singh, soprano
Viona Sanjaya, piano
Team 2 • Red, Red Sky
Sophie Kastner, composer
Melaina Mills, soprano
Giulia Magarelli, piano
Team 3 • Puppy's First Time on the Moon
Dina Pruzhansky, composer and pianist
Caroline Cao, poet
Chantal Freeman, soprano
Team 4 • thats all i remember
Thomas Palmer, composer
Susan Bywaters, poet
Erin Reppenhagen, mezzo-soprano
Austin Philemon, piano
Team 5 • Mary's Monster
Hai-Ting Chinn, composer
Christina Kay, soprano
Melody Fader, piano
Team 6 • About the Size of It
Philip Wharton, composer
Samantha Nahra, soprano
Mitchell Cirker, piano
Team 7 • Firefly
Raphael Fusco, composer
Erin Ridge, soprano
Travis Bloom, piano
Team 8 • Faith
Christopher Cooley, composer & pianist
Carson Cook, tenor
Team 10 • Dark
Olga Radović, composer & pianist Teryn Kuzma, soprano
Team 11 • The Root of Your Tongue Occupies More Space in the Mouth and Throat Than Your Voice Ever Can
Lucas Zuehl, composer, bass-baritone, & poet
Michele Wong, piano
Team 12 • Romance
Steven A. Ward, composer
Margaret Tigue, soprano
Jarod Yap, piano
Team 13 • July 4
Martha Sullivan, composer & poet
Jamilyn Manning, soprano
Christopher Zander, piano
Team 14 • En el Bosque de los Sueños
Santiago Gutiérrez Montaño, composer
Sasha Gutiérrez Montaño, soprano
Natasha Gwirceman, piano
Unfortunately, Team 9 was not able to make a recording for the virtual songSLAM due to illness.
2025 songSLAM Commission winner
World Premiere Performance
Trial
by composer Joshua Bornfield
texts by Tom Haviv
Marie Herrington, soprano & Timothy Krippner, piano
Joshua Bornfield is a composer, performer, educator, and arts advocate based in Baltimore, Maryland. He has had works commissioned by organizations as varied as Washington National Opera and wildUp. He has won awards for his orchestral, choral, and chamber music. Bornfield regularly performs with multiple choral and vocal ensembles such as critically acclaimed chamber ensemble Third Practice, Handel Choir of Baltimore, The Choir of St. David’s Church (Baltimore), and both NEXT and Peabody Renaissance Ensemble of the Peabody Institute. He directs the War Memorial Arts Initiative, an arts equity & advocacy program supported by Baltimore City’s Department of General Services.
Joshua is the winner of the 2025 songSLAM Commission Prize.