Aimee Banks takes first prize in Irené Sandford Award for Singers 2022

Soprano Aimee Banks has been announced as the winner of the 2022 Irené Sandford Award for Singers, which commemorates the much-loved singer and former Head of Vocal Studies at the RIAM. The €2,000 bursary is generously donated by her husband, Billy Reid, in addition to a number of other prizes supported by her family, friends and donors.

Aimee performed alongside fellow sopranos Abbey McGiff (second place), Anastasia Sereda (third place) and Lauren McCann (fourth place) in a final chosen from a competitive semi-final featuring 22 impressive singers.

Aimee is a 20-year-old soprano who is in our BMus programme studying vocal performance under Kathleen Tynan & Grainne Dunne. Aimee has also recently been awarded 1st place in the Birr Lions Club Bursary this year as well as winning the "The Vladimir Piontkovsky Memorial Scholarship” at Saluzzo Opera Academy in Italy. Aimee has also been awarded the “Eimear Noonan Music Bursary Award” in 2020 and “The Most Promising Performer and Bursary” at The Irené Sandford Competition 2020.

Other awards during the competition included:

Best Performance of a Polish Song during the Semi-Final Round

Anastasia Sereda

The Patricia Eberhart Aria Prize

Jacq Herbots

Most Promising Performer during the Semi-Final Round

Hugo O'Donnell