February 21, 2026 - Church of the Redeemer
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To honour the legacy of our long time artistic director and further our mission of championing the Canadian opera artists of tomorrow,
Toronto City Opera will host the 3rd annual Macina Voice Competition
Adjudication Panel 2026
After a twenty-five year career on the international operatic and concert stages,
soprano Wendy Nielsen is now Associate Professor in Voice and Opera at the
University of Toronto. She is also Head Vocal Consultant for the COC Ensemble Studio
and maintains an active private voice studio in Toronto, teaching many of Canada’s
prominent performers. Launched in her own performing career by the COC as a
member of their Ensemble Studio, Ms. Nielsen made her Metropolitan Opera debut in
1996 as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte under the baton of James Levine.
Subsequent performances at the Met over 12 seasons included: Countess Almaviva
in The Marriage of Figaro, Micaëla in Carmen and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Her
international orchestral performances were numerous, notably opening the Lucerne
Summer Festival as Elsa in Lohengrin with Ivan Fisher conducting the Budapest
Festival Orchestra. Other significant performances included appearances with
the Beijing Philharmonic; New York Philharmonic; Beethoven Festival in Krakow,
Poland; Madrid Sinfonica; Prague Autumn Festival; Toronto Symphony Orchestra;
Düsseldorf Philharmonic; and Montreal Symphony Orchestra. A native of New
Brunswick, Ms. Nielsen attended Mount Allison University and earned a Bachelor of
Music from the University of Lethbridge, as well as a Masters of Music in Opera from
the University of British Columbia. She also holds three honorary doctorates and has
garnered numerous awards recognizing her contributions nationally, provincially, and
locally.
Tom Diamond has directed acclaimed productions for all major Canadian opera companies, prominent opera companies in the United States as well as Broadway (SQUONK/American Theatre Wing Award) and off-Broadway. Productions include the world premieres of FLORENCE THE LADY WITH THE LAMP (Elora Festival/Chalmers Award), and IRON ROAD (Tapestry Opera/ Dora Mavor Moore Award). Other notable productions include Tchaikovsky’s EUGENE ONEGIN seen in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton and Charlotte, North Carolina and Handel’s JULIUS CAESAR for the Canadian Opera Company for whom he has directed 10 productions. He was the Resident Director/Dramaturge for Tapestry Opera in Toronto for a decade where he developed and staged many premiers including OKSANA G which was nominated for 7 Dora Awards His productions are always noted for the quality of the performances that inhabit them.
Mr Diamond is a renowned Operatic Acting Coach. He is the Senior Acting Coach for the COC Ensemble Studio, a regular guest at L’Opera de Montreal’s Atelier Lyrique and on staff at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glen Gould School. He also has taught/directed at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, Merola, Western University in London Ontario, McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, Dalhousie University, COSI (the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy), COAA (Canadian Operatic Arts Academy), the Eastman School of Music, the New England Conservatory, University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Program and the Universite de Montreal. He has been a fixture of Wendy Nielsen’s St. Andrews Opera Workshop for over 20 years. He is often recognized for being a Judge/Coach on the BRAVO series BATHROOM DIVAS (Canadian Screen Award).
He is currently an Associate Producer (Artistic) of the musical DANCER, the story of the Canada’s most famous race horse NORTHERN DANCER planning a Fall 2026 run in Toronto.
Jennifer Tung is the Artistic Director of Toronto City Opera, a Dora nominated conductor (Gould's Wall), and assistant conductor of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra. In 2020/21, she was selected as a conducting fellow in the inaugural year of the Women in Musical Leadership program. She has conducted with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Opera McGill, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic and Kamloops Symphony. In 2023, Jennifer conducted the world premieres of Show Room (Rodney Sharman/Atom Egoyan) and Of the Sea (Ian Cusson/Kanika Ambrose). Jennifer is on faculty at Toronto’s Glenn Gould School.
Managing Director of Dean Artists Management, Morgan Reid, has quickly established herself as a dynamic, emerging leader in Canada's classical music landscape. Ms. Reid is a frequent panelist and guest adjudicator across North America, including most recently for the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage Competition, the 2025 Hamilton Music Festival (Classical Voice Division), and the Canadian Opera Company and Ontario Arts Council’s Christina and Louis Quilico Awards. Originally trained as a soprano, Morgan is deeply committed to supporting the next generation of artists on and off the stage. She has served as a panelist for the emerging artist programs of Opéra de Montréal, Vancouver Opera, Opera Kelowna, Calgary Opera, Opera on the Avalon, Utah Opera, and Highlands Opera Studio. She has also worked with students of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music and, through Women in Music Canada, mentored emerging artistic administrators and producers during the 24/25 season.
Guillermo Silva-Marín ''Ten Most Influential Hispanic-Canadians" award-winner, Guillermo Silva-Marín is the founder and General Director of Toronto Operetta Theatre. He claims experience as a performer, stage director, writer, set and lighting designer, teacher, and producer. Performance highlights include appearances with the Canadian Opera Company, New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and symphony orchestras in Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, El Paso, Mexico and Puerto Rico. He made his debut in Ireland, directing Opera Cork's THE MERRY WIDOW in 2007 in association with conductor Kevin Mallon. During the 2006-2007 academic year, he served as Director of Opera McGill, after almost 8 years as teacher and stage director at McGill. He has overseen various world premieres, including KAMOURASKA by Charles Wilson, EARNEST, The Importance of Being by Victor Davies, TAPTOO! by John Beckwith, ISIS AND OSIRIS by Peter-Anthony Togni & Sharon Singer, and A NORTHERN LIGHTS DREAM by Michael Rose. Visit www.silva-marin.com
Competition Pianist
Ivan Estey Jovanovic is the accompanist / Music Director at TCO. He completed his BMus and MMus in piano performance at the Belgrade University of Arts. In 2004, he joined Belgrade Opera Orchestra as répétiteur and concert pianist and in 2005 joined their staff as a principal vocal coach. In 2013 he completed his MMus. in Collaborative Piano at the UofT, won the Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying, then joined UofT’s Opera Division as a vocal coach and pianist. He is a vocal coach and harpsichordist in UofT’s Early Music Department and Schola Cantorum and the vocal coach/harpsichordist with Toronto Lyric Opera.
History
Giuseppe Macina took Toronto's oldest opera workshop and transformed it in 1967 into the Toronto Opera Repertoire (later Toronto City Opera) in partnership with Toronto's public school board, presenting a whole repertoire of fully staged operas with the greatest detail and musical integrity. He retired as Artistic Director in 2013. In 1977, he was awarded the Jubilee Silver Medal by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to Italian culture in Canada. In December of 2005, Mr. Macina was made a member of the Cavagliere Ordine della Croce della Stella della Solidarietá Italianat, the equivalent of a knighthood, bestowed by the Italian government.
2025 Macina Competition participants
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Alex Hetherington: 2nd prize and Audience Prize Winner, Matthew Li, Lauren Margison: 1st Prize Winner, Christian Masucci-Facchini: 3rd Prize Winner Alex Halliday: 3rd Prize Winner and Audience Prize Winner, Paulina Swierczek, Spencer VanDellen, McKenzie Warriner
2024 Macina Competition participants
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Hannah Crawford*, Simon Genga*, Midori Marsh*, Colin Mackey, Jacob Abrahamse, Alex Mathews, Elias Theocharidis, Ellen McAteer
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*Grand Prize Winners