Muenzer brought creativity and heart to his vocal performance in front of the Queen City’s longstanding music appreciation organization, earning second place and a sought-after scholarship.
Jennifer Cooke, Content Strategy & Communications Manager
CHCA Senior Ray Muenzer has won the 2026 Nancy F. Walker Scholarship for Western Classical Vocal and Instrumental Students from the prestigious Matinée Musicale Cincinnati.
A music appreciation nonprofit originated in 1911, Matinée Musicale seeks to further classical music appreciation through recitals, receptions, and awarding grants and scholarships. The Nancy F. Walker Scholarship Competition, held annually since 2018, awards select scholarships to high school juniors and seniors, as well as college students, who demonstrate excellence in instrumental or vocal performance.
On January 31, qualified candidates for this year’s competition performed in front of a panel of distinguished judges. For Muenzer, the moment was nearly a year in the making.
“I first heard about Matinée Musicale from my friend Blake Sisney [a CHCA alum] who was the second-place winner in 2025,” Muenzer shares. “I started working towards the competitions I’m in now in April of 2025. That’s when I picked the music I performed this past January at Matinée and the music I’m singing for all my college auditions and other competitions.”
A tenor, Muenzer’s performance rose above, earning him second-place honors in the High School Vocal category and a $2,000 scholarship.
Competitions are a welcome challenge for Muenzer, who finds joy in the personal and artistic growth that comes from honing a craft. Singing, he says, is more than an opportunity to showcase deft vocal skills.
“Staging and presentation are so important, and when you sing different songs of different genres, it challenges your creativity and your ability to make it as engaging and empowering of a performance as possible,” he shares. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself from that. Also the community that music brings together is unmatched by any other community. It really brings out the best in everyone.”
Muenzer will join other scholarship winners at the Matinée Musicale Scholarship Recital in April, where he’ll take the stage once again to showcase his innate musical talent. While this scholarship is the first award he’s won for singing, it’s certainly not his last. He aspires to major in Vocal Performance at the University of Cincinnati’s renowned College-Conservatory of Music and to continue sharing his voice with audiences around the region through competitions and performances with the YAPP (Young Artist Preparatory Program).
“Matinée was a huge step for me, but I still have a lot more to keep in mind,” Muenzer says. “There’s a lot to look forward to but I’m excited to see where else my voice can take me!”
