National Student Auditions

The exciting experience of NATS Student Auditions, where singers perform and receive written feedback, is now an annual national round of competition with total prizes of more than $35,000!

Make a contribution to the NSA Award Fund

We invite you to share in the pride that we as NATS teachers take in our talented voice students. Your gift to the National Student Auditions Award Fund makes a direct impact in rewarding their accomplishments. No gift is too small to show your support.

Donate Online NOW    Print and Send Donation Form

THANK YOU for your generous donations toward the
National Student Audition Award Fund.

Individual Donors and Associate Members	NATS Regions and Chapters
Nancy Bos	California Capital Chapter
Ginger Beazley - In honor of Virginia Zeani, mentor and friend	Cal-Western Region
Chapel Hill School of Musical Arts - Sharon and Ron Szymanski, owners	Eastern Region
Michelle Markwart Deveaux – faithculturekiss Studio for Voice and Acting - In honor of the retirement of the extraordinary Pamela Hicks	Former Grand Canyon Chapter
Kathryn Proctor Duax - In honor of my voice teachers Harold Stark and Bruce Lunkley	Greater Houston Chapter
Kathy Henkel, composer - Sign of the Silver Birch Music	Kansas City Chapter - In memory of Norman Paige
Jana Holzmeier	Lehigh Valley Chapter
Linda J. Snyder - In honor of Frances Crawford Graham	Los Angeles Chapter - In honor of Violet Mesrop from Los Angeles Chapter
	Maryland/D.C. Chapter - In honor of Myra Tate, Past President and District Governor
	Mid-Atlantic Region
	Mid-South Region
	NYC Chapter - In loving memory of long-time Board member Marni Nixon
	San Diego Chapter - In memory of Ms. Pauline Tweed
	Southern Region - In honor of Dorothy Sawatski and in honor of Jacob Watson, former Southern Region Governor's Award winner, Broadway performer, and first-ever winner of the NATS National Music Theater Competition

 

History

In 1952, the Southwest District Convention featured a student competition, the first of what would later be known as NATS Student Auditions. As NATS grew, so did student auditions, and now thousands of students participate in chapter, district, and region auditions each year, providing students with constructive feedback on their progress and deemed by members as one of the most important activities NATS organizes.

Originally for classical repertoire only, auditions now encompass music theater, spirituals and other contemporary musical styles and genres as well. NATS members provide thousands of hours of volunteer service to organize, execute, and judge auditions each year – providing a valuable service to singers of all ages. Previously, student auditions ended at the region level in many parts of the country.

In 2013, the NATS Board of Directors approved the launch of NATIONAL level student auditions for the first time in NATS history, which began in 2014. National semifinal and final rounds are held every summer, alternating in conjunction with the NATS National Conference and NATS National Workshop. The 2017 semifinal and final rounds will be held at University of Colorado – Boulder, during the NATS Summer Workshop.

NSA Updates

• (2016) The College/Independent Studio Music Theater categories have been divided into both Lower (First and Second Year) and Upper (Third and Fourth/Fifth year).
• (2016) The Hall Johnson Spiritual Category has been made available through a very generous donation to NATS from the Hall Johnson Estate. The best performance of a Hall Johnson spiritual will earn a $2000 prize. Held every other year, the next Hall Johnson award will take place in 2018.

National Round Audition Eligibility and Application Process

Student singers may only advance to the National Student Auditions (NSA) through their respective regional Student Auditions (SA).

• Each NATS Region holds a regional audition (live or online).
• Each Region advances the top five singers in each eligible category (1-14) to the National Preliminary Round. The National Preliminary Round will be conducted via YouTube.
  • In the event of ties, all singers with top five outcomes may advance.
  • In Regions where audition categories are subdivided according to the National Student Audition Regulations, the top five singers from each eligible regional category will advance to the National Preliminary Round (i.e., five each from regional Freshman Women, five each from regional Sophomore Women, for a total of ten to compete in Lower College Women at the National Preliminary Round).
• Each Region sends a list of qualifying students to the NATS National Office.
• The NATS National Office will send an e-mail letter of invitation and complete instructions to the qualifying students. 
  • If you know you have qualified for NSA, you should begin working on your YouTube videos using the NSA Video Submission Guidelines linked below.
  • Each NSA application has a $75 fee. If a singer enters a classical and a music theater category, there are two $75 fees, one for each category.
  • Singers must sing the same repertoire at the national level as they sang at the regional level.

2017 Audition Dates & Locations

Preliminary Round - YouTube
Eligible singers from each region will be required to complete their individualized online application by April 23, 2017, which will include the submission of YouTube videos for adjudication by a panel of national adjudicators. Each singer will receive performance comments from three expert adjudicators.

Semifinal Round at University of Colorado - Boulder - Friday, July 21, 2017*
The top fourteen singers in each category from the YouTube round of competition will be invited to the live National Semifinals, which will be held at the University of Colorado - Boulder as part of the 2017 NATS Summer Workshop in Boulder, Colorado. 

Final Round at University of Colorado - Boulder - Friday, July 21, 2017*
The top three singers in each category from the semifinal round of competition will advance to the live National Finals, which will be held at the University of Colorado - Boulder as part of the 2017 NATS Summer Workshop in Boulder, Colorado. 

*The entire Semifinal and Final round auditions will be held on the same day, Friday, July 21.

Additional Resources

Make sure to check out the resources below for more information!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) l Video Submission Guidelines l Student Auditions Guidelines (August 2015)