Sigma Alpha Iota

6 Winter 2026 • sai-national.org SAIs In The News The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is honored to announce Chantal Braziel as winner of the 2025 American Prize in Vocal Performance, opera division. Soprano Chantal Braziel is known for the beauty, passion, and magnitude of her voice. She infuses spirit and artistry in every performance, from arias to spirituals. Chantal has a Master's in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. In her career, Chantal has also worked with the internationally-acclaimed sopranos Latonia Moore and Angel Blue, and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves-Montgomery. Chantal is a passionate classical singer who has performed both locally and internationally, and she advocated for the National Opera House in Pittsburgh, PA, founded by classical opera pioneer, Madame Mary Cardwell Dawson, in the Homewood section of the city. When the owner of the opera house, Jonnet Solomon, searched for local artists to help with the preservation, Chantal helped create the Opera House challenge, which was a video of her performing on the steps of the opera house and brought awareness to internationally- acclaimed artists through social media—this challenge led to artists and organizations donating to the opera house. Additionally, Chantal helped reinstate the Madame Mary Cardwell Dawson Branch, which is the Pittsburgh branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians Organization. Chantal is a member of the Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI) Fraternity and was a featured soloist at the 2025 SAI National Convention in Minneapolis, MN. Chantal won 2nd Place in the Birmingham International Online Vocal Competition. In 2021, she won the Special Mention Award in the Medici International Vocal Competition. She also received the Women of Excellence Aspiring Artist Award through the Grace City Opera Theatre. Chantal is the Encouragement winner of the 2020 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Auditions in the Pittsburgh District. Chantal has been a guest soloist with local Pittsburgh orchestras, such as the Pittsburgh Youth Concert Orchestra, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, the River City Brass Band, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In summer 2023, Chantal attended the international summer training program, the American Institute of Musical Studies program held in Graz, Austria (AIMS in Graz for short). While a participant in the program, Chantal was the guest soloist with the AIMS orchestra, the featured soloist in the Spiritual concert, and a semi-finalist in the AIMS Meistersinger Competition. Chantal was featured on the Classical WQED-FM 89.5 radio station as a guest performer for the station's 50th anniversary. She performed the National Anthem for the American Professional baseball and hockey teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins. She was the featured soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the Lift Every Voice concert at Heinz Hall, and returned to the ensemble of Lift Every Voice in October 2022 and February 2024. In 2019, Chantal made her Metropolitan Opera Debut in the ensemble of the 2019/2020 Grammy Award-winning production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess; she returned in the revival of Porgy and Bess in 2021, and she performed in the chorus of the Jessye Norman memorial, held at the Metropolitan Opera. Chantal also performed in the ensemble of the world-premiere production of Pittsburgh Opera's The Summer King: The Story of Josh Gibson. Chantal is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, and currently sings at local performance venues in the area. She is also a fervent teaching artist and works as a voice teacher at CAPA 6-12 and Sunburst School of Music in Pittsburgh. The American Prize in Vocal Performance—Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award honors the memory of the greatest Wagnerian baritone of his age, Friedrich Schorr, who commanded the operatic stage between the world wars, and his wife, Virginia Schorr, who taught studio voice at the Manhattan School of Music and the Hartt School of Music for nearly fifty years. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best performances by classically trained vocalists in America, based on submitted recordings. —The American Prize Press Release Chantal Braziel honored with ameriCan Prize

• Cover