Ohio State students swept two first places at Opera Columbus’s 18th Annual Vocal Competition last weekend at Capital University. Seventy-five vocalists competed for $10,000 in cash prizes and a scholarship to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. The competition was open to singers who have or are in the process of completing their education in music for the operatic stage.Seven OSU students performed in the junior division (ages 20-23), and 11 in the senior division (ages 24-35). Four OSU students in both the junior and senior divisions advanced to the final round on Sunday.Two OSU students, Bryan Davis and Carolyn Redman, advanced to the senior finals. Davis, a bass vocalist from Columbus, is a graduate student working on his master’s degree. “I still have to complete a final performance, which is a one-hour vocal recital, but after I get my master’s, I can get an agent and start auditioning in New York,” Davis said.Redman, a mezzo-soprano, is a third-year graduate student working on her doctorate in musical performance, as well as the winner of this year’s Opera Columbus vocal competition. She received $2,500 and a fully paid scholarship to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.”I have to talk it over with my family, but I’m pretty sure I’ll take it,” Redman said. “It’s a summer program, and I don’t usually take summer classes, so it won’t interfere with the completion of my degree.”Redman is still undecided between a career in performing or teaching. “I enjoy performing and teaching,” Redman said. “Performing requires a commitment to auditioning and being away from home, and I really haven’t decided what I want to do yet.”The winner of the junior division was also an OSU student. Adam Schultz won the top prize in junior finals of $600.Alexander Puhrer, a baritone from Cincinnati, won $2000 for second place in the senior division. Third place of $1500, went to tenor Daniel Weeks from LaGrange, Kentucky. Scott LaGraff, a bass-baritone from Johnson City, won the honorable mention award of $750, and John Wesley Wright, a tenor from Mt. Orab, Ohio, won the Irma Cooper Diction Award of $100. “The vocal competition encourages the careers of emerging artists. It offers young singers exposure to the opera community, a chance to win cash prizes, and constructive coaching,” said William F. Russell, general director of Opera Columbus.