Byron Johnson of Jackson, Miss., won second place in the UK Opera's Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition on March 8, 2009, at the Singletary Center for the Arts. Photos by Tim Collins.

Last Sunday was a good day to be a Johnson from Jackson in the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre’s Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition.

Dione Johnson of Jackson, Tenn., was the first-place winner in the graduate division of the scholarship competition.

Taking home the graduate grand prize of $10,000 plus full tuition and a graduate assistantship was Dione N. Johnson of Jackson, Tenn. She was also the recipient of the Kentucky Opera Prize guaranteeing her a main stage role in a future production by the Louisville company.

The second graduate prize of $7,500 plus full tuition and a graduate assistantship went to Byron Johnson of Jackson, Miss.

In the undergraduate division, first prize of $5,000 and full tuition went to Elizabeth Maurey, a soprano from Brazil, Ind. Second prize of $2,500 and full tuition went to Keymon Murrah of Louisville.

This was the fourth annual edition of the competition, designed to attract students to UK’s voice program. Students must come to UK to receive the prizes. The impact of the event can be seen throughout the UK Opera Theatre’s current production of Lucia di Lammermoor as numerous leading singers are Alltech winners including David Bellamy Baker, Bruce Bean and Megan McCauley, who sings Lucia in one of the casts of the production, which closes Saturday night.

Here are the rest of the prize winners, as provided by the UK Opera Theatre:

Bio-Cat, Inc. Encouragement Award: Undergraduate - Keymon Murrah, $500; Graduate - Christine Jobson, $500.

McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC Audience Favorite: William Clay Thompson, $1000.

Anonymous Best Communicator Award: Jondra Harmon, $1,000.

Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC Musicianship Award: Samuel McDonald, $1,500.

Powell ~ Walton ~ Milward a division of J. Smith Lanier & Co. Outstanding Transfer Student:
Matthew Gamble, $1500 plus a tuition waiver.

Mr. William L. Rouse III “The Barbara Rouse Kentucky Prize,” for a student born or educated in Kentucky: Ellen Graham, $5000.

Study at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria in 2009 or 2010:
Graduates - Dione Johnson, Byron Johnson and Samuel McDonald, $2200 each toward tuition.
Undergraduates - Elizabeth Maurey and Keymon Murrah, $1750 each toward tuition.