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NATSAA Levels of Competition

I. Preliminary Auditions

  1. NATSAA Preliminary Auditions are held in each of the 15 NATS Regions in the fall of odd-numbered years.
  2. Locations, dates, and times of NATSAA Preliminary Regional Auditions will be announced when available.
  3. Applicants must compete in the region audition of their legal residence or where they are currently studying singing.
  4. No repertoire changes are allowed after the submitted repertoire has been vetted and approved.
  5. ALL REPERTOIRE MUST BE PERFORMED MEMORIZED, excepting the aria in required repertoire Section B. This aria may be performed holding a score as is professional common practice.
  6. Applicants are urged to provide their own collaborative pianists.
  7. A list of qualified collaborative pianists may be requested from the Region’s Governor.
  8. Applicants will be responsible to pay their collaborative pianist directly for all services and in most cases to arrange rehearsals as needed.
  9. Teachers are not permitted to accompany their students’ auditions.
  10. Applicants shall perform from copyright-compliant scores or sheet music and shall support and obey the law relative to copyright and the NATS Copyright Policy.
  11. NATS requires participants to affirm compliance with the NATS Copyright Policy and to use only authorized reproductions of copyrighted works.
  12. Each region will name a winner and potential alternate(s) to advance to national semifinal auditions.
  13. Each region governor must certify the region-winner’s availability to participate in NATSAA national semifinals as follows.
  14. Collaborative pianists are allowed to play auditions from copyright-compliant, digital music on electronic tablets or iPads, but no portion of any audition may be re-started due to a device malfunction or page turn error.

II. Semifinal Auditions & Final Auditions

  1. NATSAA Semifinal and Final Auditions are held in early January in even-numbered years. Location and date for each cycle of this biennial competition are published in the NATSAA TIMELINE.
  2. NATSAA Semifinal and Final Auditions are held in conjunction with NATS Winter Workshop.
  3. Semifinalists each receive a stipend of $200 from the NATS executive office to assist with travel expenses. Regions typically contribute additional travel funding as available. Contestants are responsible for the remainder of their own additional expenses, as well as for making their own travel arrangements and hotel reservations to participate in semifinals and finals.
  4. Applicants are urged to provide their own collaborative pianists. If your personal collaborative pianist attends semifinals, the NATS Executive Office will provide a travel stipend of $200 for your collaborative pianist.
  5. Teachers are not permitted to accompany or adjudicate their students’ auditions.
  6. Notification of the need for a collaborative pianist must be emailed to the Vice President of Auditions at vpauditions@nats.org by December 1 of the NATSAA cycle.
  7. When notified before the deadline above, professional collaborative pianists will be available for one rehearsal and audition in New York City without expense to the applicant.
  8. Applicants shall perform from copyright-compliant scores or sheet music and shall support and obey the law relative to copyright and the NATS Copyright Policy.
  9. NATS requires participants to affirm compliance with the NATS Copyright Policy and to use only authorized reproductions of copyrighted works.
  10. ALL REPERTOIRE MUST BE PERFORMED MEMORIZED, excepting the aria in required repertoire Section B.
  11. No fewer than four and no more than eight finalists will be chosen at the semifinals to advance to final auditions.
  12. Finalists and semifinalists will each earn prizes totaling no less than $750.
  13. The national NATSAA winner must be available to perform during the dates of the upcoming NATS National Conference.
  14. In both semifinals and finals, contestants are required to perform ONLY repertoire that was submitted, vetted, and approved in their NATSAA application.
  15. Collaborative pianists are allowed to play auditions from copyright-compliant, digital music on electronic tablets or iPads, but no portion of any audition may be re-started due to a device malfunction or page turn error.

III. NATSAA Adjudication

  1. Qualified adjudicators will be provided.
  2. At least three professionals, but no more than five, will adjudicate each audition.
  3. Teachers having students entered in the competition are not eligible to adjudicate that NATSAA cycle.
  4. Applicants will remain anonymous until the audition is completed.
  5. In preliminary and semifinal auditions, applicants will perform for 12-15 minutes.
  6. In Preliminary and Semifinal Auditions, applicants will sing one selection of their choice to begin each audition. The adjudicators will then request selections from the repertoire submitted until the audition’s time limit is reached. Limited callbacks may be requested and heard, before a winner is determined.
  7. In Final Auditions, each finalist chooses 12-15 minutes from their submitted repertoire to perform in a micro-recital for a new panel of judges. 
  8. Adjudicators receive from the NATSAA Coordinator the repertoire list for each contestant in preliminaries, semifinals, and finals.

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