The American Opera Project has announced that it has been awarded a $270k grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the 2021-23 cycle of its Composers & the Voice training program.

The program is a two-year, tuition-free fellowship for composers and librettists, comprised of workshops sessions with professional opera singers and teachers.

This cycle’s fellows are composers Gabrielle Herbst, J.E. Hernandez, Raquel Acevedo Klein, Paul Pinto, Tidtaya Sinutoke, and Ania Vu; the librettists are Jeesun Choi, Isabella Dawis, and Troy Defour. They will work alongside C&V Resident Ensemble of Singers including Justine Aronson, Jasime Muhammad, Max Potter, Aaren Rivard, Mario Diaz-Moresco, and Kofi Hayford, as well as music directors Mila Henry, Keely Horsted, and Ron Robinson.

The fellows’ works will be heard at a “First Glimpse” concert in May 2022, followed in September by a “Six Scenes” concert, featuring excerpts from operas in development.