NSA finalists (from left) Parker Waters, Julia Holoman, Madeleine Keane, Ava Kuntz

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The final round of the NATS 2018 National Student Auditions (NSA) was held on Sunday, June 24, at the Tropicana Las Vegas during the 55th National Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

More than $35,000 in prizes were awarded to our winners, who were officially announced to a standing room audience of teachers, collaborative pianists, parents, friends and family members. The NSA semifinal round was held on Friday, June 22, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Music, which served as NATS National Conference host and NSA Competition sponsor. Nearly 200 of the top young vocalists from across the United States and Canada participated in the semifinal round.

The Hall Johnson Spiritual Competition was also included in this year’s NSA categories. Sponsors of the Hall Johnson Spiritual awards included the Hall Johnson Estate, first place prize; National Association of Teachers of Singing, second and third place prizes; Bay View Music Festival, two full tuition scholarships to the American Spirituals Initiative at the Bay View Music Festival; and American Spiritual Ensemble, one full tuition scholarship to the American Spirituals Initiative. Winners (in order of placement) included Tres McMichael, Jalen Smith, and Kayla Linquist.

Scholarships to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, were awarded to first-place winners in the graduate advanced men and women categories. Recipients included Crystal Golden from the NATS Mid-Atlantic Region, a student of Patricia Miller; and Zaikuan Song from the NATS Great Lakes Region, a student of Richard Dudley Fracker.

Staff Collaborative Pianists included Rachel Aubuchon, Tracey Bradshaw, Cary Denby, Lydia Feild, Deborah Gordillo, Cindy Lee, Tatiana Lokhina, and Jonathan Murphy.

The NSA finalists are listed below, by category, including their region and their teacher:

Category 1 – High School Music Theater Women

• 1st Place: Abigail Pauley, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Amanda Pauley
• 2nd Place (tie): Emma Broyles, Northwestern Region, Student of Jenna Hensley
• 2nd Place (tie): Katherine Roeder, New England Region, Student of Noel Smith
• Honorable Mention: Phoebe Jacobs, Northwestern Region, Student of Megan Sand

From left: Abigail Pauley, Phoebe Jacobs, Katherine Roeder, Emma Broyles

Category 2 – High School Music Theater Men

• 1st Place: Toshaan Arora, Texoma, Region, Student of Michelle Haché
• 2nd Place: Parker Waters, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Nancy MacArthur Smith
• 3rd Place: Nick DiPuma, Southeastern Region, Student of Rebecca Salter

From left: Nick DiPuma, Parker Waters, Toshaan Arora

Category 3 – High School Women

• 1st Place: Madeleine Keane, North Central Region, Student of Diane Lane
• 2nd Place: Julia Holoman, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Kimberley Bentley
• 3rd Place: Ava Kuntz, Cal-Western Region, Student of Kathleen Martin

From left: Ava Kuntz, Madeleine Keane, Julia Holoman

Category 4 – High School Men

• 1st Place: Parker Waters, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Nancy MacArthur Smith
• 2nd Place: David Bone, Central Region, Student of Jacqueline Giltner
• 3rd Place: Nathan Janzen, North Central Region, Student of Daniel Johnson-Wilmot

From left: Nathan Janzen, Parker Waters, David Bone

Category 5 – Lower College Music Theater Women

• 1st Place: Sydney Byte, Texoma Region, Student of Robin Cotton-Cobb
• 2nd Place: Elizabeth Drake, Southeastern Region, Student of Tara Diane Warfield
• 3rd Place: Victoria Hill, Southeastern Region, Student of Reverie Mott Berger

From left: Elizabeth Drake, Sydney Byte, Victoria Hill

Category 6 – Lower College Music Theater Men

• 1st Place: Anthony Blatter, Central Region, Student of Steven Tharp
• 2nd Place: Matthew Carter, West Central Region, Student of Alisa Belflower 
• 3rd Place: Ben Boutell, Mid-South Region, Student of Elizabeth Packard Arnold

From left: Matthew Carter, Anthony Blatter, Ben Boutell

Category 7 – Lower College/ Independent Studio Women

• 1st Place: Lucy Evans, Central Region, Student of Karen Brunssen
• 2nd Place: Emma Robertson, Southeastern Region, Student of Elizabeth Johnson Knight
• 3rd Place: Bonnie Blackwell, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Glenn Siebert

From left: Lucy Evans, Bonnie Blackwell, Emma Robertson

Category 8 – Lower College/ Independent Studio Men

• 1st Place: Shayne Piles, Central Region, Student of Chris Thompson
• 2nd Place: Ben Strong, Eastern Region, Student of Joseph Banouch
• 3rd Place: Tyrese Byrd, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Grant Knox

From left: Shayne Piles, Ben Strong, Tyrese Byrd

Category 9 – Upper College Music Theater Women

• 1st Place (tie): Desiree Borges, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of John Wright
• 1st Place (tie): Kourtney Ellis, Southeastern Region, Student of Tyrone Hayes
• 3rd Place: Hannah Bach, Texoma Region, Student of Jeffrey Picon

From left: Desiree Borges, Kourtney Ellis, Hannah Bach

Category 10 – Upper College Music Theater Men

• 1st Place: Jalen Smith, Southeastern Region, Student of Toni Anderson
• 2nd Place (tie): Corbin Eakes, West Central Region, Student of Bryan Pinkall
• 2nd Place (tie): Jairus McClanahan, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Jennifer Luiken
• Honorable Mention: Luke Holt, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Catherine Froneberger Siarris

From left: Corbin Eakes, Jalen Smith, Jairus McClanahan, Luke Holt

Category 11 – Upper College/Independent Studio Women

• 1st Place: Susannah Stewart, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Jeanne Fischer
• 2nd Place: Aiyana Williams, Central Region, Student of Carol Chapman
• 3rd Place: Savannah Hirst, Southeastern Region, Student of Sahoko Sato Timpone

From left: Savannah Hirst, Susannah Stewart, Aiyana Williams

Category 12 – Upper College/ Independent Studio Men

• 1st Place: Luke Merrick, Southern Region, Student of Liesl Dromi
• 2nd Place: John Mburu, Mid-South Region, Student of Tony Deaton
• 3rd Place: Bergsvein W. Toverud, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Grant Knox
• Honorable Mention: Cardarious Bonner, Texoma Region, Student of Guy Wilson, Jr.

From left: Luke Merrick, John Mburu, Bergsvein W. Toverud, Cardarious Bonner

Category 13 – Graduate/Advanced Women

• 1st Place: Crystal Golden, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Patricia Miller
• 2nd Place: Clarisse Colao, Cal-Western Region, Student of Aubrey Adams-McMillan
• 3rd Place: Yvette Rodriguez, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Dorothy Maddison

From left: Yvette Rodriguez , Crystal Golden, Clarisse Colao

Category 14 – Graduate/Advanced Men

• 1st Place: Zaikuan Song, Great Lakes Region, Student of Richard Dudley Fracker
• 2nd Place: Austin Sanders, North Central Region, Student of Daniel Johnson-Wilmot
• 3rd Place: Gerald Nicholas, Texoma Region, Student of Guy Wilson, Jr.

From left: Gerald Nicholas, Austin Sanders, Zaikuan Song

Hall Johnson Spiritual

• 1st Place: Tres McMichael, Mid-Atlantic Region, Student of Polly Cornelius
• 2nd Place: Jalen Smith, Southeastern Region, Student of Toni Anderson
• 3rd Place: Kayla Linquist, Northwestern Region, Student of Erin Guinup

From left: Tres McMichael, Kayla Linquist, Jalen Smith

NATS thanks the donors who have generously contributed toward the National Student Audition Award Fund to help financially reward our finalists. Hundreds of NATS members provided their services as adjudicators at all levels of the competition. Coordinators included Daniel Johnson-Wilmot, NSA Coordinator; Amanda Motes, NATS Membership and Program Coordinator; Kimberly James, Site Coordinator; Kimberly James and Carol Ann Modesitt, Staff Pianist Coordinators; and National Student Auditions Committee members Diana Allan, Karen Brunssen, Allen Henderson, Daniel Johnson-Wilmot, Mark McQuade, Linda Snyder, Robert Wells, and Melanie Williams.