Headshot of Bonnie Cutsforth-Hubert

Bonnie Cutsforth-Huber, professor of music at Penn State Altoona, has been named the 2026 winner of the Richard Sjoerdsma Excellence in Writing Award. Named in honor of editor in chief emeritus Richard Sjoerdsma, who helmed the journal from 2001 to 2023, this biennial award honors the best feature article written for the Journal of Singing over the most recent two-year cycle.

“It is with much delight and satisfaction that I share in the presentation of the second installment of the Richard Sjoerdsma Excellence in Writing Award to Dr. Bonnie Cutsforth-Huber, along with a merited Honorable Mention to Dr. Linda Lister,” said Sjoerdsma. “Although their previous writings had no role in the deliberations, nevertheless it is important to note that both honorees have made significant prior contributions to the Journal of Singing. These, along with the articles upon which the current recognitions are based, paradigmatically exemplify the journal's standards for careful scholarship, originality, and quality writing.”

Cutsforth-Huber’s winning article, titled “Bel Canto des Wortes—The Pedagogy of Cornelia (Cornelie) van Zanten,” appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of the Journal of Singing (vol. 80, no. 2). An important study in the genre of historical pedagogy, the author examines a forgotten pedagogue and her 1911 treatise from the Neapolitan school that offers insight into the history of the bel canto movement.

“I am truly humbled and honored to be the recipient of such a prestigious award, and am thrilled to have had the opportunity to introduce NATS members to the worthy work of Cornelia van Zanten,” Cutsforth-Huber said upon learning she was the recipient of the award. “I am grateful to NATS and the Journal of Singing for the opportunity to raise awareness about the pedagogical work of this remarkable woman.”

The selection committee, comprising members of the Journal of Singing editorial board, editor in chief Matthew Hoch, and editor in chief emeritus Richard Sjoerdsma, considered thirty peer-reviewed feature articles published between 2024 and 2026. In addition to naming Cutsforth-Huber the winner, the committee also wished to recognize Linda Lister’s article, “The Prolific Song Output and Seasonal Sehnsucht of Franz Schubert and Taylor Swift,” as an honorable mention, citing the author’s eloquent writing and the originality of her chosen topic.

“I am honored by this distinction, especially for an unusual article juxtaposing the ‘Prince of Song’ with the most-streamed artist on Spotify,” Lister writes, “and I am grateful to Richard Sjoerdsma, who supported my writing by editing three previous articles during his distinguished tenure helming the Journal of Singing.”

Editor in chief Matthew Hoch stated the following regarding this year’s honorees: “The two articles selected by this year’s committee are an illustration of the vast variety of excellent scholarship published in the Journal of Singing. We are fortunate to have so many astute writers devoting their minds and talent to exploring voice pedagogy and literature across all styles, genres, and eras.”

Both authors will be recognized at the final banquet of the 2026 NATS National Conference in San Antonio. The Sjoerdsma Award, only bestowed in conference years, includes a $1,000 award endowed by the Richard D. Sjoerdsma fund.