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Students Win at Arkansas NATS Student Auditions

March 4, 2020

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(Conway, AR March 3, 2020) The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Arkansas Student Auditions were held on February 28-29. NATS was founded in 1944 and is the largest professional association of teachers of singing in the world with more than 7,000 members worldwide. The NATS Southern Region consists of more than 200 voice professionals from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The recent auditions were held during the Arkansas Spring Conference at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. 


The Arkansas NATS Student Auditions is an annual vocal competition held at rotating colleges and universities around the state. Voice Teachers who are members of NATS take their best voice students to the competition. There are three rounds of auditions: the initial round, the semifinals, and the finals. There are typically three students (occasionally four) who are sent to the final round. According to student and competitor Lauren Hager, it's stressful, but very fun and worth it! It takes a lot of practice and dedication to make it to the second round, [and] much more so to the finals. Students who competed in the Arkansas Student Auditions were Caleb Allen, Dylan Bradley, Drew Brewer, Rachel Burns, Ashleigh Daugherty, Lauren Hager, Abigail McGraw, Allison Mantooth, and AJ Woodraska. 


All of the students competing are students of Central Baptist College Assistant Professor of Music, Suzanne Banister. Robert Clark provided piano accompaniment. Seven of the nine students competing qualified for the semifinal round. Dylan Bradley won first place in the Musical Theater: Upper College Music Theater Men category. Dylan competed with four contrasting Music Theater selections from Broadway or Off-Broadway productions. AJ Woodraska won second place in the Younger Student Adult Category. AJ competed with three contrasting selections from a classical repertoire: one art song in English, one art song in a foreign language, and one additional art song or aria. 


For more information visit the Fine Arts Department at Central Baptist College . Performance scholarships are available for qualifying students. Visit cbc.edu/whycbc to schedule a visit or apply. For questions contact the CBC Admissions Office at admissions@cbc.edu or 501-329-6873. 



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