That was AIMS 2008!
  AIMS 2008 finished with a flurry of master classes, recitals and the traditional gala concert featuring the AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition, all within the last nine days of the six-week session.

Bo Skohvus     Bo Skohvus     Bo Skohvus                      Patricia Craig

Bo Skovhus, Danish baritone, world reknown in both operatic and Lieder performance, gave a master class for Lieder singers and pianists that was a highlight of the summer. This was Skovhus' third visit to AIMS. Patricia Craig, Metropolitan Opera soprano and voice professor at New England Conservatory, presented three master classes open to all singers.

Liederabende were presented by Concert Studio participants with Lieder chosen to be appropriate to various themes: Die Natur, Kennst du das Land? and Ich, du, er, sie. The Operetta Studio presented a rousing performance including Robert Stolz songs and excerpts from Die Fledermaus, and the studio of Evangeline and Beaumont Glass presented an evening of operatic arias, duets and ensembles as a benefit for the Graz Geriatric Center. The last recital featured members of the AIMS Festival Orchestra performing chamber music, including works for instruments and voice, and a string quartet composed by faculty member Gustavo Halley.

The 2008 Grand Finale was the AIMS 28th Meistersinger Vocal Competition. From 50+ singers in the preliminary and semi-final rounds of the Competition, eight finalists and two alternative finalists were selected by a jury. Performing at the Helmut-List-Halle in Graz, the prize-winners were named from the eight finalists by a panel of judges who had not heard them sing before. First Prize went to Brittany Hines-Hill. The monetary award for this prize was given by Dr. Marilyn Swingle, retired voice professor now living in Columbus, Mississippi, in honor of Thomas and Vicki King for their more than 25 years of service to AIMS. A unique feature of the Competition is the audience vote to select the "Audience Favorite". It is always interesting to compare the audience opinion with that of the Jury and this year was no exception. The Audience Favorite Award went to Stacey Stofferahn. The award is a gold Vienna Philharmonic medallion given by Mr. Kurt Rockenbauer, a Graz businessman and long-time AIMS supporter.
 
The Finalists of the 28th AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition
  Meistersinger-2008-Finalisten
 
Clarissa Lecce (left), Sarah Young, Stacey Stofferahn, Kathryn Guthrie, Brittany Hines-Hill
Michelle Pretto, Danielle Messina, Ardalan Jabbari, Kate Tombaugh, Jessica Dold
  Judges of the 28th AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition
     •  Ileana Cotrubas, lyric soprano, Vienna
     •  Patricia Craig, spinto soprano, Professor of Voice
          New England Conservatory, Boston
     •  Jan Danckaert, baritone, Opera Agent, Mannheim
     •  Ewa Izykowska, soprano, Professor of Voice
          Frederic Chopin Music Academy, Warsaw
     •  Barbara Wild, Repetitor, Pianist and Conductor, Munich
   
  The Prize-Winners of the 28th AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition
      1st Place
      Brittany Hines-Hill, soprano
      Dich, theure Halle from "Tannhäuser" (R. Wagner)
   
      2nd Place
      Kathryn Guthrie, soprano
      Großmächtige Prinzessin from "Ariadne auf Naxos" (R. Strauss)
   
      3rd Place
      Michelle Pretto, soprano
    Sola, perduta, abbandonata from "Manon Lescaut" (G. Puccini)
   
            Brittany Hines-Hill             Kathryn Guthrie             Michelle Pretto
            Brittany Hines-Hill                       Kathryn Guthrie                          Michelle Pretto
   
      4th Place and Audience Favorite Award
      Stacey Stofferahn, soprano
      Ah, fors’è lui from "La Traviata" (G. Verdi)
   
             TO WATCH EXCERPTS OF THE TEN FINALISTS SINGING THEIR ARIAS WITH THE AIMS FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, CLICK HERE.
   
       Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)
      Jessica Dold, soprano
      Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin from "Fidelio" (L. van Beethoven)
   
      Ardalan Jabbari, baritone
    Largo al factotum from "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (G. Rossini)
   
      Danielle Messina, soprano
      O quante volte from "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" (V. Bellini)
   
      Kate Tombaugh, mezzo soprano
      Smanie implacabili from "Così fan tutte" (W. A. Mozart)
   
      Encouragement Awards (Alternates)
      Clarissa Lecce, soprano
      Donde lieta uscì from "La Bohème" (G. Puccini)
   
      Sarah Young, soprano
      Il est doux, il est bon from "Hérodiade" (J. Massenet)
  The Encouragement Awards are given in memory of two of AIMS' Founders, Nora Sands, formerly General Director of AIMS, and Irma Cooper, Professor of Voice at The Ohio State University and lifelong AIMS patroness. This year the AIMS Summer Vocal Institute celebrated its 40th Year in Europe.
  AIMS Festival Orchestra & Edoardo Mueller
  The AIMS Festival Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Carthy, concluded the concert with the First Waltz Sequence, Op. 59, from Der Rosenkavalier.