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UK Vocalists Soar at NATS Competition
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 5, 2012) — Five University of Kentucky School of Music students won their divisions at the 2012 Kentucky District of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Oct. 19 and 20, at Evansville University, in Evansville, Ind.
The five students who placed first at the NATS Kentucky District competition are:
- Mary Catherine Wright, of Lexington, a voice performance student of Director of UK Opera Theatre Everett McCorvey, winner of the Freshmen Women Division;
- Dylan Harrison, of Nicholasville, Ky., a voice performance student of McCorvey, winner of the Sophomore Men Division;
- Gabrielle Barker, of Lexington, a voice performance student of Endowed Chair, Professor of Voice Cynthia Lawrence, winner of the Junior Women Division;
- Philip Eschweiler, of Golden Valley, Minn., a voice performance student of Lawrence, winner of the Senior Men Division; and
- Rebecca Farley, of Henderson, Ky., a voice performance student of Lawrence, winner of Advanced Women Division.
In addition to the five winners, two more UK students earned second and third place honors. Alyssa-Marie Detterich, of Orange, Calif., a voice performance student of Lawrence, took second place in the Freshmen Women Division. Peter Gibbons, of Lexington, a music education student of McCorvey, took third place Freshmen Men Division.
UK also had two semi-finalists in the competition. TaeEun Moon, of Busan, South Korea, a graduate student of Lawrence, was named a semi-finalist in the Advanced Men Division. Clay Thompson, of Lexington, a voice performance student of Associate Professor Dennis Bender, was named a semi-finalist of the Senior Men Division.
John Greer, head coach of voice and opera at UK Opera Theatre, served as the accompanist for the majority of UK's vocalists. UK piano performance graduate student Yuri Kim played for Moon, her husband.
The National Association of Teachers of Singing Inc. (NATS) encourages the highest standards of the vocal art and of ethical principles in the teaching of singing and promotes vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented. The organization also publishes The Journal of Singing, a scholarly journal comprised of articles on all aspects of singing and the teaching of singing, written by distinguished scholars in their fields. Founded in 1944, NATS is now the largest association of teachers of singing in the world and boasts more than 6,500 members in the United States, Canada, and more than 25 other countries around the world.
The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716
or whitney.hale@uky.edu
