W Singers Win at Statewide Contest

Three Mississippi University for Women voice majors won prizes in the finals at the annual statewide conference and student auditions held by the Mississippi chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). The event took place Feb. 21-22 at Mississippi State University in Starkville.

Tenor Zachariah Harden, a music education major, placed first in the category Upper College Musical Theatre, tenors, baritones and basses. Soprano Moira Cairns, a music therapy major, placed first in Non-Traditional Musical Theatre. Kalina Tran, a soprano and music therapy major, placed fourth in Lower Classical trebles. All three singers are in the studio of Dr. Susan Hurley, associate professor of voice at The W.

“Our W singers have a track record of success at state, regional and national competitions. Last week’s competition wins demonstrate that our voice students continue to perform at the highest levels. Their success is evidence of the excellent quality of training students receive at The W’s music department. I’m very happy to see our students enjoying the conference event and to see them receive recognition from other voice teachers around the state,” said Hurley.

At the event, singers performed for a panel of judges in a preliminary round on Friday, offering the judges a list of prepared songs/arias for adjudication. Singers were scored on their performances, and those with the top scores advanced to the finals. Finalists were announced late Friday night and performed their final round on Saturday morning in a public concert in the recital hall at MSU. At the finals, Harden performed “She loves me,” from the musical “She Loves Me,” Cairns performed “I don’t need a roof” from “Big Fish,” and Tran performed the German art song “Die Forelle,” by Franz Schubert. W music faculty member Dr. William Reber played the piano for each performance.

In addition to the student competition, the conference also included a masterclass on Friday evening. Cairns further represented The W by performing in the masterclass, also open to the public, performing “My white knight” from “The Music Man.” She was selected for this opportunity by a committee of NATS member teachers.

The W is the first institution in the state of Mississippi to be accredited by the National Association of the Schools of Music (NASM) in 1935. Its alumni are music teachers, professors, music therapists and independent musicians creating music, educating the next generation of musicians, and helping people all around the world.

For more information about the NATS conference, please contact Susan Hurley at slhurley@muw.edu.