Photo by Tiffany Xiao/The Choate News
On December 6, 2021, Varun Ramamurthi ’22 received the 2022 National YoungArts Foundation Merit Award for Voice. YoungArts is a widely recognized and highly competitive art contest that covers ten broad genres and dozens more specific classifications under each genre. Over 7,000 contestants around the world participated in the competition, of which 15 from each genre were selected as Merit Award winners.
Participating in the classical voice section, Ramamurthi submitted four recordings including “one art song in English from any time period”, for which he submitted “Let Beauty Awake” by Ralph Vaughan Williams; “one art song in a language other than English”, for which he submitted “Le Secret” by Gabriel Fauré; “a song or aria selection”, for which he submitted “Prayer” by H. Leslie Adams; and “one art song or aria in Italian from any period”, for which he submitted “Toglietemi la Vita Ancor” by Alessandro Scarlatti.
Ramamurthi’s passion for singing started when he was eight years old. Joining the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys in San Francisco, he honed his choral singing skills. “The rigor of the Cathedral Choir created the basis for my singing skills,” said Ramamurthi. With over twelve hours of practice per week for six years, the choir traveled throughout the country and performed in many events, including singing the National Anthem for the San Francisco Giants. Now, as the Co-president of the Maiyeros acapella group and assistant conductor of Chamber Chorus, Ramamurthi continues to invest his time.
His inspiration to join the YoungArts National Competition stems from a summer program he attended at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, a prestigious program for classical voice and music. The three-week program allowed him to learn with some of the most capable instructors in the world and receive college and conservatory-level training. After the program, an instructor at the program recommended him to apply for the competition.
“With the merit award of the competition, YoungArts provides me with ample opportunities as an artist in both my creative and professional pursuits,” said Ramamurthi. “I also receive a subscription to YoungArts Post, which is a great way to connect with the art community.” According to the YoungArts website, the YoungArts Post is a “a private, online portal for YoungArts artists to connect, share their work and discover new opportunities.”
Despite still being undecided about his career, Ramamurthi wants to continue his passion for music in college and see where that takes him. Ramamurthi is searching for colleges with a rigorous classical voice and composition program that will leave both career opportunities open to him in the future.
“No matter where I am after high school, I know that this competition has given me a great boost to my future career as an artist,” Ramamurthi said.
Ramamurthi recently sang at the Angela Davis Presentation on Diversity Day with members of the Chamber Choir and will perform in many future musical events on campus including Winter Recital at the end of the term and Senior Recital in the spring.
