We are pleased to announce the 2012-2014 Elected Officers for NATS:

President: Kathryn Proctor Duax

Kathryn Proctor Duax is a Professor Emerita of Music at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She holds a BA degree from Austin College (Sherman, TX), an M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota, and a D.M.A. from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Proctor Duax has been a voice teacher for nearly 40 years. She is a charter member of the Wisconsin State Chapter of NATS, serving in several offices including chapter president and Wisconsin Governor of NATS. Duax served as  Governor of the NATS North Central Region from 1998-2002, and as Vice-President of NATS for Discretionary Funds and Field Activities from 2002-2006.  During her terms on the NATS Board of Directors, she served six years organizing and coordinating the Student NATS  program.

Dr. Proctor Duax has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Florentine Opera, the Minnesota Bach Society, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Summer Musicals, Wisconsin Public Radio, the Oshkosh Symphony, the Chippewa Valley Symphony, the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, Zeitgeist, and she has sung many recitals in the Midwest. She has sung under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies, Robert Shaw, Roger Wagner, Lukas Foss, Daniel Moe, Pierre Hetu, and Moses Hogan.  She premiered operas and numerous songs written by Michael Cunningham and Ivar Lunde.

Her students are successful teachers, music therapists and performers, including a Metropolitan Opera winner and several international artists in opera and musical theatre.

President Elect: Norman Spivey

Norman Spivey is professor of music at Penn State, where he teaches singing and courses in voice pedagogy. An active member of NATS, he has served as president of the Allegheny Mountain Chapter, governor of the Pennsylvania District, and national vice president for workshops, and currently serves on the board of the NATS Foundation and is in his second term as Eastern Region governor. His writings have appeared in Journal of Singing, and he has participated in the NATS Intern Program as an intern and as local coordinator, and was selected as a master teacher for the 2010 program.

Spivey received a B.M. from Southeastern Louisiana University, a M.M. from the University of North Texas, and a D.M.A. from the University of Michigan. A Fulbright grant to Paris, where he worked with renowned baritones Gabriel Bacquier and Gérard Souzay, led to concert and opera engagements throughout France, as well as a tour of France and Canada as Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute. While in France, he was also awarded the Harriet Hale Woolley Award as artist-in-residence at the Fondation des Etats-Unis. He has sung Schubert's Winterreise at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and performed the American premiere of Poulenc's rediscovered Quatre Poèmes de Max Jacob. His most recent performance project, Écoute: pieces of Reynaldo Hahn, was an original one-man show on the life and music of the French composer that toured around the country. Spivey has received fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival and the Institute for Advanced Vocal Studies in Paris; in 2003 he received the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship awarded jointly by The Voice Foundation and NATS. In 2011, Spivey was invited to join the American Academy of Teachers of Singing.

Past President: Donald Simonson

Donald Simonson is Professor of Music and Chair of the Voice Division at Iowa State University. There he teaches applied voice, voice pedagogy, acoustics, and directs music theater. He has served NATS at all levels, first as chapter auditions chair, secretary/treasurer, district governor, and regional governor. In 1998 he conceived and coordinated the first ever Call for Papers for a NATS Conference. He continued in that role until he assumed the position of Vice President for NATSAA in 2006. Also in 2006 he was named a Master Teacher for the NATS Intern Program. In 2008 he was elected to the position of President Elect, served as President from 2010-2012, and is now serving as Past President. In addition to his NATS activity and teaching, Simonson also maintains an active acoustics lab. The results of his efforts have been published in scientific journals and presented at conferences and symposia both here and abroad.

Vice President, NATSAA, Carole C. Blankenship

Carole Blankenship, soprano, is Assistant Professor of Music at Rhodes College where she is the Coordinator of the Voice Division. She received the M.M. and D.M.A. in Vocal Performance from the University of Memphis. Regularly performing in recitals, chamber music concerts, and oratorio performances in the Mid-South region, Dr. Blankenship has most recently presented recitals and lectures in Lisbon, London, and Scotland (2010-2011). Dr. Blankenship has performed solo recitals in Marktoberdorf, Germany; at The Cell Theatre, New York, New York; The University of California, Santa Cruz; The University of the Pacific; The University of Delaware; and at The University of Texas, San Antonio. Her research is focused in American song, particularly of Paul Bowles, and those created under the direction of the Federal Music Project 1935-1940. She is co-director of the Memphis Music and Religion Archive at Rhodes College. Currently serving as Tennessee Governor for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, she has also served as the President of the Memphis Chapter of NATS.

Vice President, Discretionary Funds & Field Activies: Mitra Sadeghpour

Mitra Sadeghpour is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where she teaches Applied Voice and Opera Literature, is coordinator of the Voice and Choral Area, and is the director of the opera program. She has recently staged productions of “Die Zauberflöte” and “Albert Herring” and is committed to bringing opera to children via the touring opera program Opera on Wheels and other outreach projects.  She also serves as music director and conductor for musicals in collaboration with University Theatre. An active member of NATS since she began collegiate teaching, Sadeghpour has served her Wisconsin State Chapter as a board member at large, Membership Secretary, and has sat on the nominating and auditions committees as well as a National Strategic Planning committee.  In 2005 she was selected as a member of the NATS Intern Program in Rochester, NY and was honored to host the 2011 Intern Program at UW-Eau Claire this past June.  She is the advisor for the UW-Eau Claire SNATS chapter and welcomes the opportunity to work with and learn about the activities of SNATS chapters around the United States.

Sadeghpour’s research interests have led to numerous University-funded and award-winning faculty-student collaborative research projects on subjects ranging from student practice habits, opera education and outreach, semi-staging of art song cycles, diverse American art song composers, and her current project: the songs of French composer and pianist, Cécile Chaminade.  Dr. Sadeghpour has presented the results of her research in opera outreach sessions at National Opera Association conventions, as well as in poster sessions at conventions of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, the International Congress of Voice Teachers, NOA, and NATS.  She is an active adjudicator, most recently judging the 2011 MTNA National Finals.  Sadeghpour’s own students have won prizes in numerous competitions, including the Wisconsin Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Schubert Club, Wisconsin NATS Auditions, and Young Arts and are successfully teaching, singing, and working in the arts throughout Wisconsin and the United States.  She has been selected as a University of Wisconsin System Teaching Fellow and in 2005, Dr. Sadeghpour was a guest lecturer at University of Winchester in Winchester, Great Britain. Originally from Iowa, Sadeghpour earned her Bachelor’s degree from Luther College (Decorah, IA) where she studied with David Greedy, and her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Indiana University, where she was a student of Patricia Havranek.  Prior to her appointment at UW-Eau Claire, she taught at Luther College. Dr. Sadeghpour performs regularly in the Midwest region in recital and oratorio/concert repertoire.

Vice President , Membership: Anne Christopherson (2nd Term)

Anne Christopherson is currently serving her first term as Vice-President of Membership.  She joined NATS in 1999 when she began teaching at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.  From 2002 - 2006 she served as North Dakota District Governor and from 2006 - 2010 served as Regional Governor for the North Central Region.  Anne and her colleague, Dr. Royce Blackburn, presented a joint poster presentation, "Teaching the Rural Student," at the 2006 NATS National Conference in Minneapolis, MN as well as for the North Dakota chapter.  She also served on the 2008 Poster Paper Selection committee NATS National Conference.  Other NATS activities include a performance and master class for the New England Region conference; adjudication of the New England Region NATSAA; adjudication of the Texoma region’s “Singer of the Year,” competition; adjudication of the Manitoba chapter’s “Contemporary Music Scholarship Competition;” and adjudication of the North Dakota chapter Student Auditions.

Anne received her B.M. and M.M. degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Colorado-Boulder under the direction of Dr. Barbara Doscher and her D.M.A. in Vocal Performance from The Ohio State University as a student of Dr. Karen Peeler (pedagogy) and Dr. Robin J. Rice (voice).  Her dissertation is entitled, "The Cliff's Edge: An Introduction to the Art Song of Margaret Garwood."  She is currently Associate Professor at UND where her teaching responsibilities include all voice performance courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  She served as Coordinator of the Voice Area from 2007 - 2009.  She has also collaborated with the UND Theatre Department as musical director for their musical theatre productions.  Her developmental leave in New York City included teaching at NYU-Steinhardt, vocal study with Dr. Brian Gill, and cabaret study with Lennie Watts and Steven Ray Watkins culminating in a solo show at The Duplex in the West Village.

Her "dazzlingly supple voice" has been critically acclaimed in all genres of vocal repertoire in such venues as Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Space, the Colorado Lyric Theatre Festival, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, Don’t Tell Mama Cabaret and The Duplex Cabaret Theatre.  Her stage roles range from Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd to Cunégonde in Candide and to Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro.  Her engaging personality, outstanding musicianship, piano skills, and thoughtful approach to vocal technique continue to earn her appearances as a performer, teacher, musical director, adjudicator and clinician.  She is also a member of MTNA, NYSTA, the Professional Women Singers Association (PWSA), and the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC).

Vice President, Workshops: Kathleen H. Arecchi

Kathleen Arecchi, D.M.A, Professor: Voice, Vice-Chair for Music, and Coordinator of Voice Performance Studies at Plymouth State University. Dr. Arecchi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Joseph College (CT), the Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Maryland. While active as a soprano soloist, Dr. Arecchi performed with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra in opera, oratorio, cantata, and chamber music. For Opera North (NH), she performed the title role in The Merry Widow, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, among others. She appeared in numerous musical theatre, operetta, and opera productions in CA, CT, MA, MD, and NY. At Plymouth State, Dr. Arecchi has served as either music director or stage director for many productions in the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, among them: Iolanthe, City of Angels, Carousel, Trouble in Tahiti, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, a program of opera scenes: Sinners, Saints and Sirens, and upcoming, The Drowsy Chaperone. From 2001 to 2003 she was a member of the voice faculty at Opera Festival di Roma, where she also staged a program of American musical theatre for Italian audiences. Experienced in teaching both classical and musical theatre singing techniques and repertory, Dr. Arecchi has been a casting consultant for the Papermill Theatre (NH) for twenty years.

Dr. Arecchi joined NATS in the 1970s, was a founding member and first President of the Granite State Chapter of NATS (NH), and served also as the NH District Governor prior to her term as the New England Regional Governor (2006-2010). While serving on the NATS Board she was a member of the Student Auditions and the NATSAA Committees as well as Chair of the NATS Strategic Planning Committee, an assignment that she has continued at the request of President Donald Simonson. She currently is a member of the Boston Chapter Board and Chaired the 2010 Art Song and Aria Festival Committee.

Her prior experience in planning and running conferences and workshops includes the biennial NENATS Summer Conference (August 2009), which is similar in size and scope to NATS workshops, assisting in the planning and implementation of the NENATS Summer Conference (August 2005), and serving as Suzanne Draayer's local coordinator for the NATS Summer Workshop held in Newport, RI in August 2007.

Secretary/Treasurer: Kathryn Barnes-Burroughs

Kathryn Barnes-Burroughs has enjoyed success in opera, recital, and concert engagements across the country with roles ranging from Santuzza and Azucena to Offenbach's Grand Duchess. She toured with New York City Opera's National Company and has performed with New Orleans Opera Association, Hawaii Opera, Anchorage Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Pensacola Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Shreveport Opera, among others. In her career since serving as a Louisiana Opera Intern, she has worked in productions with composers and conductors such as Gian Carlo Menotti, John Corigliano, Imre Pallo, Klauspeter Seibel, and Anton Coppola. Her concert engagements have taken her from the Anchorage Concert Association, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Connecticut Choral Society, to performance as featured artist with Santo Domingo's Orquesta Sinfónica Nacionál. Recent engagements include multi-media performances at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, Rhode Island Chamber Music Series, SUNY Binghamton's New Music Series, Georgia Southeastern's Chamber Recital Series, and the Hawaii International Conference on the Arts and Humanities.

Her continuing contracts include appearances with The Lubbock Chorale's Messiah; University of Hawaii's Concert Series in recital; The Cambridge Choral Institute's Mozart Requiem, Meridian Symphony Orchestra for the title role in Carmen; with the Festival Escuela Superior in Matamoros, Mexico as featured multi-media recitalist and vocal master class clinician; and master class presenter at Houston's American Festival for the Arts. She recently presented research at the Austrian Voice Institute in Salzburg, serving also as Featured Master Teacher for the Institute's Seventh International Voice Symposium: On the Mozart Voice, as well as teaching on faculty with the Voice Foundation's Annual International Symposium in Philadelphia both as a pedagogical researcher and 2010 workshop presenter of: Dynamic Choices in Singing – Finding Expressive Nuance in the 21st Century; in 2007: Sing What You Are Saying; and in 2006: Go with the Flow: the Breath and Beyond.

Named the recipient of the 2006 Alumni New Faculty Award for the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University where she served as associate professor of music, Dr. Barnes-Burroughs continues to incorporate technology in her performance and teaching. She earned the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Houston's Moores School of Music and has served as Coordinator, Vocal Applied Studies and Director of Opera at the University of South Alabama where she was named the 2003 Phi Kappa Phi Artist of the Year. Also the recipient of the 2007 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship from the Voice Foundation and the National Association of Teachers of Singing, she is now director of Southern Institute for the Performing Voice – A Creative Center for Education and Research – and enjoys her appointment to the Editorial Board of Journal of Voice. Her newly released song cycle The Memory of Splendid Music, can be heard on Contemporary Record Society's CD: Contemporary Art.

Since the 1980’s, Kathryn has been an active NATS member in Louisiana, Alaska, Rhode Island, Alabama, and Texas.  A past-president of Texas Panhandle NATS, she also served nationally as chair of the NATS Pedagogy Committee and coordinated the Pedagogical Teaching Survey under NATS president Martha Randall, consequently continuing her service on president Scott McCoy’s Pedagogy Curriculum Committee.  She moderated the Pedagogy Panel at the National Convention in Nashville, where she also performed the lecture recital "Listening to Tradition: Improvisation in Classical Music" with baritone Marvin Keenze.  A long-time organizer of outreach programs, Kathryn was proud to coordinate with ALANATS and the West Texas District of TEXOMA NATS as co-sponsors of Voice Workshops, Symposia, Master Classes, and Vocal Institutes presented at Texas Tech and University of South Alabama. Professionals featured in these events included Robert Thayer Sataloff, Thomas Cleveland, Oren Brown, Richard Miller, Jeannette LoVetri, Margaret Baroody, Ronald C. Scherer, Marni Nixon, Lisa Wilson, Marvin Keenze, and W. Stephen Smith.