Two SIUE Students Win at NATS Regional Singing Competition
Two Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students won their classification at the regional National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition at the University of Iowa last weekend. Three other SIUE students also successfully competed at the new Voxman School of Music in Iowa City.
The winners were sophomore Michael Hawkins, a sophomore musical theater major from Belleville, in Undergraduate Lowerclass Musical Theatre Men, and David Fournie, a junior vocal performance major from St. Louis, in Undergraduate Upperclass Classical Men.
The field consisted of more than 500 students from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Each competitor performed arias and songs from select musicals and operas depending upon their category.
Hawkins sang “King of the World” from Songs For A New World, while Fournie performed the Prologue Aria from I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo.
“We are solidifying ourselves as one of the stronger vocal programs in the central region of NATS,” said Marc Schapman, PhD, associate professor of voice in the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences, and coach of the performers. “Our students are consistently placing high in these extremely competitive competitions. I was extremely impressed with their work ethic preparing for the event and how supportive they were of each other during the competition. We truly have a great group of voice students at SIUE!”
Maika Miller, a freshman musical theater major from Alton, finished second in Undergraduate Lowerclass Musical Theatre Women.
SIUE students advancing to the semifinals included senior vocal performance major Sarah Paitz, of Maryville, and vocal performance graduate student Emily Moore.
Photo (L-R): SIUE students who competed in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) regional competition included: Sarah Paitz, private student Hannah Willmore, Maika Miller, Emily Moore, Rachel Wagner, private student Caleb Johnson, David Fournie and Michael Hawkins along with Marc Schapman, associate professor of voice at SIUE and the performers’ coach.
