What's New > Announcing the 2018 National Student Auditions Winners
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NSA finalists (from left) Parker Waters, Julia Holoman, Madeleine Keane, Ava Kuntz
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The final round of the NATS 2018 National Student Auditions (NSA) was held on Sunday, June 24, at the Tropicana Las Vegas during the 55th National Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
More than $35,000 in prizes were awarded to our winners, who were officially announced to a standing room audience of teachers, collaborative pianists, parents, friends and family members. The NSA semifinal round was held on Friday, June 22, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Music, which served as NATS National Conference host and NSA Competition sponsor. Nearly 200 of the top young vocalists from across the United States and Canada participated in the semifinal round.
The Hall Johnson Spiritual Competition was also included in this year’s NSA categories. Sponsors of the Hall Johnson Spiritual awards included the Hall Johnson Estate, first place prize; National Association of Teachers of Singing, second and third place prizes; Bay View Music Festival, two full tuition scholarships to the American Spirituals Initiative at the Bay View Music Festival; and American Spiritual Ensemble, one full tuition scholarship to the American Spirituals Initiative. Winners (in order of placement) included Tres McMichael, Jalen Smith, and Kayla Linquist.
Scholarships to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, were awarded to first-place winners in the graduate advanced men and women categories. Recipients included Crystal Golden from the NATS Mid-Atlantic Region, a student of Patricia Miller; and Zaikuan Song from the NATS Great Lakes Region, a student of Richard Dudley Fracker.
Staff Collaborative Pianists included Rachel Aubuchon, Tracey Bradshaw, Cary Denby, Lydia Feild, Deborah Gordillo, Cindy Lee, Tatiana Lokhina, and Jonathan Murphy.
The NSA finalists are listed below, by category, including their region and their teacher:
Category 1 – High School Music Theater Women
From left: Abigail Pauley, Phoebe Jacobs, Katherine Roeder, Emma Broyles
Category 2 – High School Music Theater Men
From left: Nick DiPuma, Parker Waters, Toshaan Arora
Category 3 – High School Women
From left: Ava Kuntz, Madeleine Keane, Julia Holoman
Category 4 – High School Men
From left: Nathan Janzen, Parker Waters, David Bone
Category 5 – Lower College Music Theater Women
From left: Elizabeth Drake, Sydney Byte, Victoria Hill
Category 6 – Lower College Music Theater Men
From left: Matthew Carter, Anthony Blatter, Ben Boutell
Category 7 – Lower College/ Independent Studio Women
From left: Lucy Evans, Bonnie Blackwell, Emma Robertson
Category 8 – Lower College/ Independent Studio Men
From left: Shayne Piles, Ben Strong, Tyrese Byrd
Category 9 – Upper College Music Theater Women
From left: Desiree Borges, Kourtney Ellis, Hannah Bach
Category 10 – Upper College Music Theater Men
From left: Corbin Eakes, Jalen Smith, Jairus McClanahan, Luke Holt
Category 11 – Upper College/Independent Studio Women
From left: Savannah Hirst, Susannah Stewart, Aiyana Williams
Category 12 – Upper College/ Independent Studio Men
From left: Luke Merrick, John Mburu, Bergsvein W. Toverud, Cardarious Bonner
Category 13 – Graduate/Advanced Women
From left: Yvette Rodriguez , Crystal Golden, Clarisse Colao
Category 14 – Graduate/Advanced Men
From left: Gerald Nicholas, Austin Sanders, Zaikuan Song
Hall Johnson Spiritual
From left: Tres McMichael, Kayla Linquist, Jalen Smith
NATS thanks the donors who have generously contributed toward the National Student Audition Award Fund to help financially reward our finalists. Hundreds of NATS members provided their services as adjudicators at all levels of the competition. Coordinators included Daniel Johnson-Wilmot, NSA Coordinator; Amanda Motes, NATS Membership and Program Coordinator; Kimberly James, Site Coordinator; Kimberly James and Carol Ann Modesitt, Staff Pianist Coordinators; and National Student Auditions Committee members Diana Allan, Karen Brunssen, Allen Henderson, Daniel Johnson-Wilmot, Mark McQuade, Linda Snyder, Robert Wells, and Melanie Williams.
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