Baltimore is searching for its next great jazz singers

The city’s Cab Calloway and Billie Holiday Vocal Jazz Competitions are searching for new vocalists. The events pay homage to jazz vocal icons Holiday and Calloway by giving a unique performance opportunity to talented individuals.

The competitions will be held at Artscape on July 20, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and are open to contestants in Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties in Northern Virginia and Adams, Chester, Franklin and Lancaster counties in Southern Pennsylvania.

Applicants should submit their completed application, which can be found at artscape.org, a $25 application fee, their resume, and a cassette tape or CD of no more than three of their own renditions of jazz favorites including one song previously recorded by Holiday, for the women, and Calloway, for the men, by March 28.

Semifinalists will compete before an audience and judges to receive cash prizes and opportunities for exposure. The first-place winner receives $2,500, the second-place winner receives $1,500, and the third-place winner receives $1,000.

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