The Lotte Lenya Competition is an international theater singing contest recognizing talented young performers, ages 19 to 32, who are dramatically and musically convincing in a wide range of repertoire, and emphasizes the acting of songs within a dramatic context. Held annually by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, it was founded in 1998 by foundation President & CEO Kim H. Kowalke, Professor of Musicology at the Eastman School of Music and, since 1987, the head of the Musical Theater Workshops at the University of Rochester.