Young baritone Leon Vitogiannis is set to test himself against some of the country’s best classical and opera singers under the age of 26 after making the semi-finals for this year’s Australian Singing Competition.
The 25-year-old was named in the list of ten singers around the nation under 26 to make the Semi Finals Concert of the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, which is operated by Music & Opera Singers Trust (MOST).
The concert will take place on 18 August at the Independent Theatre in North Sydney with the singers vying for a place in the Finals Concert the following month on 19 September at the Concourse in Chatswood.
Vitogiannis, who is Music Director of the Australian Hellenic Choir, said he was “beyond thrilled” when he received the call notifying him of his qualification to the semi-finals.
“As young artists we work and work and work on our craft, so any time that work is recognised, it is a wonderfully validating feeling,” the classical vocalist told Neos Kosmos.
Vitogiannis, who is also a conductor and high school music teacher, explained that he underwent auditions in Sydney to try make the semi-finals.
“In the audition, we present some arias and undertake an interview with the adjudicators discussing our performance, our plans and have the opportunity to receive some feedback,” he said.
The young baritone stated the competition gives him a great opportunity to share his artistry with both audiences and professionals in the field.
“It is a personal achievement of mine to have reached a further stage of this competition, where it symbolises some growth in my own journey,” the singer said.
Vitogiannis’ classical vocal journey began in his late teens, which was when he first became enamoured with Opera and Art Song, listening from that point onwards to an inordinate amount of music and learning as much as he could.
“When I look back, I feel that I have not lost my inquisitive side into music,” the classical vocalist said.
“Of course, my vocal and acting ability has shaped up since those high school days, but I feel that it’s the connection the music, text, and storytelling that really drives me in my craft.”
Vitogiannis, a third generation Greek Australian with roots from Tripoli and Symi, has spent the past five years as Music Director of the Australian Hellenic Choir, which has helped him engage in Greek music.
“In our concerts I have designed programmes with an aim to diversify the Greek Australian musical landscape, honouring the works of popular composers and performing works that span to the origins of Modern Greece,” he said.
“With my experience in Greek popular music and Classical Greek music, it has been so gratifying to share this interest with a choir and wider community who share a love for this music.”
Such is his interest that Vitogiannis is expanding his knowledge with further study into these areas.
“I have actually found myself researching Classical Greek music and am completing a dissertation on the vocal art songs from 1830’s of Nikolaos Mantzaros with Associate Professor Jeanell Carrigan AM and Professor Vrasidas Karalis.”
