First prize winner Andre Chiang is congratulated by Linda Snyder, NATS President.

NEW YORK – A field of top young vocalists from across North America offered thrilling performances as they competed in the 45th National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artist Awards competition on Friday, January 5, 2018. The event culminated with baritone André Chiang from Mobile, Ala., winning first place, earning more than $13,000 in cash and prizes. Chiang is a student of Dennis Jesse at Louisiana State University.

The NATS Artist Awards competition was held in conjunction with the NATS National Winter Workshop at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Singers competed in the semifinal round earlier in the day, six of whom advanced to perform in the evening final round. Baritone Erik Grendahl from Herndon, Va., finished second and also won the Dorothy Kirsten/James Browning Award for Singer with the Most Potential. He studies with Kevin McMillan.

The remaining finalists included tenor Christopher Reames from Port Jefferson, N.Y., winning the Irma Cooper Award for third place; soprano Amy Moodie from Toronto, winning the Herald Stark Award for fourth place; bass-baritone Derrell Acon from Chicago, winning the Mary Wolfman Award for fifth place; and baritone Adam Ewing from Westminster, Colo., winning the Berton Coffin Award for sixth place. Their teachers include Randall Scarlata (Reames), Lorna MacDonald (Moodie), Patrice Michaels (Acon), and Patrick Mason (Ewing).

Chiang won a $5,000 cash prize, a New York solo debut in a major choral work with orchestra and chorus sponsored by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY); a $4,000 Scholarship to attend the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria; a $1,000 gift certificate from Hal Leonard Corporation; a year subscription to Appcompanist; and a featured solo performance at the upcoming NATS National Conference in Las Vegas. This past summer Chiang won the 2017 NFMC Young Artist Competition for Men’s Voice. His upcoming engagements include St. Paul in Mendelssohn’s Paulus with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, Schaunard in La bohème with Mobile Opera, Commissioner/Yamadori in Madama Butterfly with Pensacola Opera, Charlie in Three Decembers with Painted Sky Opera, and Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen with Louisiana Opera

Grendahl won more than $6,000 in cash and prizes: $4,000 in cash plus a $2,000 scholarship to attend AIMS in Graz and a $500 gift certificate from Hal Leonard Corporation. He won an additional $1,500 as winner of the Dorothy Kirsten/James Browning Award for Singer with the Most Potential.

Collaborative pianists in the final round included Mory Ortman, performing with André Chiang; Dr. Eunae Ko Han, performing with Erik Grendahl; Kanako Reames, performing with Christopher Reames; Lochlan Brown, performing with Amy Moodie and Derrell Acon; and Jeremy Reger, performing with Adam Ewing.

Sponsors of this year's event included Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY), AIMS in Graz, the Hal Leonard Corporation, and the NATS Foundation.

Complete List of Prizes

1st Prize ($13,000): André Chiang, Mobile, Ala., student of Dennis Jesse
2nd Prize ($6,000): Erik Grendahl, Herndon, Va., student of Kevin McMillan
3rd Prize – Irma Cooper Award($2,500): Christopher Reames, Port Jefferson, N.Y., student of Randall Scarlata
4th Prize – Herald Stark Award ($1,800): Amy Moodie, Toronto, Ontario, student of Lorna MacDonald
5th Prize – Mary Wolfman Award ($1,500): Derrell Acon, Chicago, Ill., student of Patrice Michaels
6th Prize – Berton Coffin Award($1,200): Adam Ewing, Westminster, Colo., student of Patrick Mason
Todd Duncan Award ($1,000): Shareese Arnold , Lexington, Ky, student of Cynthia Larwrence
Louis T. Nicholas Award ($750): Kathryn Domyan , New Orleans, La., student of Dreux Montegut
Irvin Bushman Award  ($750): Ndumiso Nyoka, Dallas, Texas, student of Barbara Hill Moore
Ed Baird/Bruce Lunkley Award ($750): Elizabeth Galafa, Seattle, Wash., student of Erin Guinup  
Annemarie Gerts Award ($750): Caroline O’Dwyer, Coventry, Conn., student of Meredith Ziegler
Lee Cass Award ($750): Kelsey K. Rogers, Dickinson, N.D., student of Kristin Dauphinais
William Venard Award ($750): Tyler Reece, Santa Barbara, Calif., student of Linda Di Fiore
Bernard Taylor Award ($750): Cody Laun, Moscow, Idaho, student of Maryann Kyle
Dorothy Kirsten/James Browning Award for Singer with the Most Potential ($1,500): Erik Grendahl

About Andre Chiang

Touted by The Oregonian as “vocally commanding,” baritone André Chiang brings his lyrical voice to repertoire spanning from Handel to Glass. This past summer, Mr. Chiang won the 2017 NFMC Young Artist Competition for Men’s Voice and his upcoming engagements include St. Paul in Mendelssohn’s Paulus with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, Schaunard in La bohème with Mobile Opera, Commissioner/Yamadori in Madama Butterfly with Pensacola Opera, Charlie in Three Decembers with Painted Sky Opera, and Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen with Louisiana Opera.

Mr. Chiang’s recent engagements include returns to Virginia Opera as Fiorello/Ofiicer in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Opera Birmingham as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, along with debuts with Opéra Louisiane as King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Past season highlights include Falke in Die Fledermaus, Ford in Falstaff, Yamadori/Registrar in Madama Butterfly, Maximillian/Captain in Candide, Young Galileo/Salviati in Galileo Galilei, and Argante in Rinaldo, all with Portland Opera; Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Ash Lawn Opera; Masetto in Don Giovanni, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Morales/Le Dancaïre in Carmen, and Motorcycle Cop/Guard 1 in Dead Man Walking with Shreveport Opera; Marchese d’Obigny in La traviata with Opera Birmingham; Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd, Barone Douphol in La traviata, and Le Dancaïre in Carmen with Virginia Opera; Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with The Washington Idaho Symphony; Dottore Grenvil in La traviata and Marco in Gianni Schicchi with Mobile Opera; and Ctésippe in Pénélope, Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro, and Falke with the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Chiang is also a graduate of several prestigious apprenticeships, having spent summers as a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and with the Glimmerglass Festival, covering Nathan Gunn as Lancelot in Camelot, as well as performing the role in their Young Artist Matinee.

Along with his stage work, he is equally comfortable in recital and concert. These credits include “A Romantic Evening” with La Grange Symphony Orchestra, an orchestrated concert of Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel under the baton of George Manahan, baritone soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Richmond Symphony, baritone soloist in Carmina Burana with the New Orleans Symphony Chorus who performed in the French Quarter Festival, and bass soloist in Haydn’s Mass in D minor with the Eastern Shore Choral Society and the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Chiang was a Regional Finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, fifth place winner in the Opera Birmingham 39th annual competition, the La Grange Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition Winner, finalist in the Liederkranz Art Song/Lieder competition, winner of the Grand Concours de Chant for French song, winner of the Eisenberg–Fried Concerto Competition for Voice at the Manhattan School of Music, and winner of the NFMC 2017 Biennial Young Artist Competition. Mr. Chiang completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of South Alabama and his Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently residing in Baton Rouge, La., and studies with Dennis Jesse, Associate Professor of Voice at Louisiana State University in pursuit of a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance. 

More Info: andrechiangbaritone.com