Announcements

Start here for a quick overview of what’s new and what you need to know before beginning this year’s audition cycle. The 2026–2027 NATS Student Auditions season brings a fresh start, with important updates to repertoire requirements, audition procedures, technology, and the resources you use along the way. You’ll also begin seeing new terms, including OneAudition, along with a completely refreshed set of NSA webpages, handbooks, guidelines, PDFs, and other tools designed to make the process clearer and easier to navigate. Below you’ll find key changes by category, important reminders, upcoming learning opportunities, and information about our new AuditionNow platform. Please use these announcements as a quick reference and be sure to review the complete NSA Guidelines and updated resources for full requirements and details.

 📣 NATS Student Auditions - 2026-2027 Season Updates

• Watch the recorded webinar HERE.

📣Semifinals & Finals in June 2027

• The 2027 NSA Semifinals and Finals will take place June 26–28, 2027, at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music in Boulder, Colorado.

📣Summary of What's New in Classical (CL) in 2026-2027

• No Double Dipping - Singers entering multiple NSA categories (Classical, Commercial Music, Musical Theatre, and/or Spirituals) may NOT use the same selection in any other category including the American Negro Spirituals category. 
• When does my time begin? The time for ALL NSA auditions begins when the singer begins their slate. 
• Sing NEW Repertoire - Repertoire performed in the 2026-2027 National Student Auditions cycle should not be reused from the previous NSA cycle’s chapter, region, or national student cycle. 
• Teachers enter singers in the NSA Qualifying Round - Teachers will now be responsible for entering their singers in the NSA Rounds using AuditionNow. 
• The Art Song in English - For singers in the International Region from countries where English is NOT the primary language, any requirement for an English-language art song may be fulfilled by an art song in any official language of their country. 

📣Summary of What's New in Commercial Music (CM) in 2026-2027

• No Double Dipping - Singers entering multiple NSA categories (Classical, Commercial Music, Musical Theatre, and/or Spirituals) may NOT use the same selection in any other category including the American Negro Spirituals category. 
• When does my time begin? The time for ALL NSA auditions begins when the singer begins their slate.
• Sing NEW Repertoire - Repertoire performed in the 2026-2027 National Student Auditions cycle should not be reused from the previous NSA cycle’s chapter, region, or national student cycle.
• Teachers enter singers in the NSA Qualifying Round - Teachers will now be responsible for entering their singers in the NSA Rounds using AuditionNow. 
• No Musical Theatre Songs in Commercial Music - Eligible repertoire must have originated in the commercial music industry. Songs originally written and released by commercial recording artists are eligible, even if they were later incorporated into a stage, film, or television musical. Songs originally written for a stage musical, film musical, television musical, opera, or other dramatic work are NOT eligible. 
• Tracks can include background vocals - A prerecorded instrumental backing track, may include backing vocals but may NOT include lead vocals. 
• Reminder About Amplification in CM - All CM auditions must use only ONE microphone to amplify the vocals through an external speaker. Mics cannot feed directly into the camera. No additional microphones may be used for any purpose. 

📣Summary of What's New in Musical Theatre (MT) in 2026-2027

• No Double Dipping - Singers entering multiple NSA categories (Classical, Commercial Music, Musical Theatre, and/or Spirituals) may NOT use the same selection in any other category including the American Negro Spirituals category. 
• When does my time begin? The time for ALL NSA auditions begins when the singer begins their slate. 
• Sing NEW Repertoire - Repertoire performed in the 2026-2027 National Student Auditions cycle should not be reused from the previous NSA cycle’s chapter, region, or national student cycle. 
• Teachers enter singers in the NSA Qualifying Round - Teachers will now be responsible for entering their singers in the NSA Rounds using AuditionNow. 
• Reminder: No arrangments allowed in MT - A limited exception is made for published solo editions approved by the copyright holder–authorized arrangements that preserve the complete original solo line while omitting only incidental chorus or ensemble passages. Rare exceptions allowed for published solos approved by the copyright owners. 

📣New Audition Platform Technology

• A brand-new audition registration and adjudication platform called AuditionNow will be used for all Region and Chapter auditions that are progressive in nature (from Region to Nationals in Summer 2027 or from Chapter to Region).
• The current audition registration and adjudication platform called AuditionWare will be used for all Chapter auditions that are NOT progressive to Regions or to Nationals in the Summer 2027. This is ONLY true for chapters with fall auditions.  Chapters with spring auditions will use AuditionNow, regardless of whether or not they are progressive. AuditionWare will not be used after December.

📣New Resources and Website / Webpages

• All Guidelines, Handbooks, and support documents and PDFs have been completely revised. Do NOT use or refer to version from past years. This applies to resources for students, parents, teachers, and adjudicators.
• An all-new NSA website experience! Technically, it’s a dedicated sub-site within the NATS website, but we’ve separated all NSA information into its own space — because, yes, there is a lot of it! You’re currently on the new NSA sub-site. To find it again in the future, simply visit https://www.nats.org/NSA/

📣New Terminology ~ OneAudition

• As part of this complete revision of the NATS Student Auditions process, we have rebranded to ensure that all students, teachers, and parents have a consistent experience no matter where they are competing or auditioning. Thus, was born the term, OneAudition.