Vocal Vision Fellowship Awards

Opera UCLA gratefully acknowledges Suzanne Weiss Morgen for her generous support.   The Vocal Vision Awards competition was created by Suzanne Weiss Morgen to honor the memory of her beloved grandmother, Dr. Bertha D. Hirsh and her beloved mother, Mrs. Goldine Weiss. Mrs. Weiss was a fine amateur pianist who also loved to sing. Her piano bench was absolutely filled to the brim with wonderfully diverse compositions. Dr. Hirsh had a beautiful voice and enjoyed singing classical musical theater, art songs and arias as a young woman. Later in life, she decided to become an optometrist at a time when there were practically no women doctors. She opened her office on Hollywood and Vine, treating many of the Hollywood stars of the day. Suzanne views the awards as reflecting her grandmother’s forward-looking vision. Both women were truly passionate music lovers, particularly of opera and the vocal arts. Suzanne herself graduated from UCLA with a degree in music-vocal performance. She went on to perform and has sustained an ongoing successful vocal teaching career for decades. Suzanne was the recipient of many vocal awards as a young singer, two of which she received while a student at UCLA. This was a strong motivator toward establishing the Vocal Vision Awards, as she remembered the enormous boost the awards gave to her. The rewards were not only monetary, but also provided confidence and encouragement as well as broader performance exposure. The Vocal Vision Awards provide vocal scholarships to deserving young singers, allowing them the opportunity to hone their technical and performance skills and supporting them as they mature toward professional careers in voice and opera. With special thanks to Henry Morgen.