Baritone Michael Zegarski, a native of Crystal Lake, was named the Carson Silver Medal winner at the national American Traditions Competition earlier this month in Savannah, Ga.
Now of New York City, Zegarski, 31, sang a program of American show tunes in the competition, which is a major component of the annual Savannah Onstage International Arts Festival. The six finalists were selected from among 89 contestants nationwide.
Zegarski is making his off-Broadway debut next month in “Blood on the Dining Room Floor,” a musical based on a Gertrude Stein story.
“Everything has been going so well. It feels like my hard work has paid off,” Zegarski said. “I feel honored to be doing what I love to do and being acknowledged by my peers.”
After graduating from Marian Central High School in Woodstock in 1984, Zegarski attended Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh to study music theater. He then went to the University of Minnesota, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music. He received an advanced certificate–the equivalent of a master’s degree–from The Juilliard School in New York.