Majority of 2012 Metropolitan Opera Audition Finalists study with NATS Members

There were many proud NATS members recently as a number of their students were finalists and winners in the 2012 auditions.  As of the publication date of this article, these are the known NATS connections among seven of the nine finalists.  Please send any additional NATS connections to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and they will be added to this article.

Among the winners:

Baritone Anthony Clark Evans studies with Randall Black from Murray State University in Kentucky.

Tenor Matthew Grills studies with Robert Swenson at Eastman School of Music.

Mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa studied with the late Sophie Ginn-Pastor at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio.

Soprano Janai Brugger studied with Elsa Charlston at DePaul University in Chicago and studies with Stephen King.

Among the finalists:

Baritone Will Liverman studied with Carolyn Hart at Wheaton College in Chicago

Soprano Lauren Stouffer studies with Stephen King in Houston as a member of the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Program.

Bass-baritone Michael Sumuel has studies with Stephen King as a member of the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Program and studied with Earl Coleman at Columbus State University in Georgia.

The complete release on the winners can be found HERE.