Five ISU Students Earn 1st Place in Intermountain Vocal Competition

Five ISU students recently placed first in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Intermountain Regional Online Competition. 

The five students, trained by Professor of Music Diana Livingston Friedley, all received first place standings after this round of auditions. For Upper Musical Theatre Treble, Alyssia Peine; for Advanced Classical Treble, Autumn Sterner; for Upper Classical Treble voice, Miren Gabiola; for Lower Classical, Gabriel Beckman; and for Lower Classical Treble voice, Lorelei Dowland.

NATS has a local chapter, the Intermountain Region, which consists of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska. This round of competition was evaluated by Intermountain voice teachers. The five students are now invited to go to the next national online round. If they place at the next round, they will be invited to compete live this summer at the SanDiego conference. 

The students all shared thoughts about what it means to participate in this competition.

As a double major in BME and vocal performance in the ISU Music program, I am excited to participate and compete in the NATS program. It's been a great opportunity to deepen my study of vocal music and performance with my outstanding vocal teacher, Dr. Diana Livingston-Friedley, and a chance to represent fine arts for ISU! -Gabriel Beckman

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have had to participate in NATS. Being a Music Major at ISU has been a wonderful and eye opening experience. I have learned so much and look forward for more of these opportunities in the future! - Lorelei Dowland

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the Intermountain Regional NATS competition. I am so proud of the ISU Music Department voice students for doing so well in the competition. -Miren Gabiola

It has been such a rewarding experience being recognized for my work amongst so many other talented students, and I have the time and talents of my professors at ISU to thank for helping me get here! -Allysia Peine

This is my third year participating in the NATS Student Auditions. Every year it has been a wonderful experience. Because of the help from my voice teacher at ISU, I have always felt well prepared for the audition and the comments from the judges are helpful as I continue to work with my voice teacher. -Autumn Sterner