May 17, 2019 – Seven Collin College students placed at the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition in March. The students participated in six different vocal divisions.
Founded in 1944, NATS is the largest association of teachers of singing in the world. The organization celebrates the art of singing through a series of competitions and programs that are designed to showcase talented singers and performers. Events are held annually in each region.
“The NATS experience provides our singers the invaluable experience of learning and preparing an audition for a panel of jurors each semester,” Music Professor Casey L. Carter said. “Through dedicated hours of study and practice, our applied vocal students memorized, polished and performed three to seven new pieces of music each semester and they compete in the regional and area NATS auditions.”
Collin College student Michael Martin won first place in the Graduate Men’s division of the competition. He said he has been working on his classical voice technique for the last two years and was thrilled to be able to participate in the competition this year. He will be transferring to the University of North Texas next fall.
“Winning first place in the Graduate Men’s Division felt like the culmination of years of hard work, intense supervised study, and confirmed that I had made the right decision by coming to Collin College to study music,” Martin said. “I am forever grateful to Professor Carter, DFW NATS, and Collin College for allowing me the opportunity to seek out and attain my true potential.”
For Collin College student Marlei Dismuke it was her first experience performing in a NATS Master Class and singing opera. She placed fourth in the Freshman Women division.
“I honestly went in not expecting to place, I just wanted to do my absolute best since I was still new,” she said. “It was a pleasant surprise to keep moving on in the rounds throughout the day when I was there. In the end it was a really good experience.”
Top singers from each regional category will advance to a national online screening round, where participants will submit a video of their performances for adjudication by a panel of national judges and the chance to perform at the national auditions at St. Olaf College in Minnesota in June.
The students who placed in the competition include:
- Div 4: Young High School Men: Edward Balley, Richardson-second place
- Div 7A: Freshman Women: Marlei Dismuke, Plano-fourth place
- Div 7B: Sophomore Women: Karla Silva, Allen-fifth place
- Div 11A: Junior Women: Diana Balley, Richardson-fifth place
- Div 11B: Senior Women: Jacqueline Cuesta, Carrollton-fourth place
- Div 14: Graduate Men: Michael Martin, Plano-first place
- Div 14: Graduate Men: Taylor Hankey, Wylie-second place
Collin College serves more than 55,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates. The only public college based in Collin County, Collin College is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and workforce development. In addition, the college operates the Collin Higher Education Center, which has an enrollment of 3,500 each year in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M Commerce, Texas Tech and the University of North Texas.