2024 NATS Artist Awards

2024

48th Artist Awards Competition Sunday, January 7, 2024 ★ 7:30 p.m.

Neidorff-Karpati Hall ★ Manhattan School of Music ★ New York City

N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N o f T E AC H E R S o f S I N G I N G

2024 NATS ARTIST AWARDS first prize More than $13,000 in cash and prizes

$5,000 cash and a featured performance at the 2024 NATS National Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Winner will also receive a $4,000 scholarship to attend the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, plus a $1,000 gift certificate from Hal Leonard Corporation.

second prize

More than $6,000 in cash and prizes Second prize winner will receive $4,000 cash, a $2,000 scholarship to attend AIMS in Graz, Austria, and a $500 gift certificate from Hal Leonard Corporation.

NATS greatly appreciates the efforts of AIMS, Hal Leonard Corporation and the NATS Foundation in providing prizes for the NATS Artist Award Competition.

Foundation Heritage Fund of the NATS Endowment

Adjudicators for the Semifinal Round

Adjudicators for the Final Round

Priti Ghandhi David Adam Moore Danielle Talamantes

Warren Jones Susanna Phillips Justin Werner

NATSAA 2024 Collaborative Pianists Michael Borowitz Keith Critcher Matthew Gemmill

Alexander Kostadinov Jan McDaniel Susan McDaniel

Nan McSwain Gregory Ritchey Renate Rohlfing

Eric Sedgwick Natalie Sherer

2024 NATSAA Competition Team Alisa Belflower, NATS Vice President for Auditions Mark McQuade, NATS National Coordinator for Competitions and Auditions

2 0 2 4 N AT S A R T I S T A W A R D S

2024 NATSAA SEMIFINALISTS

At-Large/International: Mariya Kaganskaya

Central: Sadie Cheslak

(San Francisco, CA)

Cal-Western: Natalie Buickians

(Los Angeles, CA)

(Chicago, IL)

New England: Emily Siar

North Central: Sonia Grimsled

Northwestern: Madeline Ross

(Boston, MA

(Stevens Point, WI)

(Portland, OR)

Eastern: Elana Bell

(New York, NY)

Great Lakes: Siyi Yan

(Bloomington, IN)

Mid-Atlantic: Tess Ottinger

Mid-South: Jessica Bayne

Southeastern: Virginia Mims

Southern: Scott Purcell

Texoma: David Bogaev

West Central: Courtney Fletcher

(West Palm Beach, FL)

Baton Rouge, LA

(Fairfax, VA)

(Dallas, TX)

(Lexington, KY)

(Lawrence, KS)

NATSAA AWARD WINNERS 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971

Richard Rivers Alice Riley Beth Ann Hood Calvin Dash Barbara Faulkner Kay Griffel Teresa Omanates Robert Hale Sylvia Friedrich No Award Marilyn Burris Linda Matousek Rose Wild Kathleen Mott William Parker Paul Benningfield

1972 1973 1974 1976 1978 1980 1981 1983 1984 1986 1987 1989 1990 1992 1993 1995

Linda Zoghby Margaret Eaves Cynthia Karnstadt Peggy Pruett Jo Ann Pickens Jonathon Mack Andrea Matthews Karen Smith Wendy Hillhouse Debra Kay Fitzgibbon Bonita Hyman Lauren Wagner Stephen Morscheck Lorie Gratis Elizabeth Smith Norah Amsellen

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

Lynda Keith McKnight Debra Wilkie Vanessa Salaz Kara Gugenmos Marcia Porter Danielle Talamantes Courtney Huffman Thomas Florio Andrew Garland Melissa Wimbish Rachel Schutz André Chiang Matt Hill Claire McCahan

2024 NATS ARTIST AWARDS 48TH ARTIST AWARDS COMPETITION NATS Artist Awards (NATSAA) Information on 2024 NATSAA available this spring The NATSAA semifinals and finals take place in New York City during the NATS Winter Workshop in early January. NATS is honored to be able to present this biennial showcase of emerging talent to a wide audience of leading professionals in our industry.

Complete information on the 2026 NATSAA Competition will be available this spring and will be sent to all NATS members. Regional auditions will be held in fall of 2025. For further information, please visit our website at nats.org, watch for information in the Inter Nos newsletter, or contact the NATS National Office at info@nats.org or 904.992.9101.

NATS Singer of the Year and Artist Awards The first NATS Singer of the Year Competition was held at the 1955 NATS Convention in Chicago with Richard Rivers declared the winner. He received a prize of $500 and auditions with the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera and the Chicago Lyric Opera.

Throughout its history, the purpose of this competition has been to select, through a series of elimination rounds on the district, regional and national levels, singers whose artistry indicates that they are ready for a professional career and to encourage them toward that goal with a cash prize and the opportunity for performance engagements.

By 1968, it had become apparent that the number of accomplishments of the contestants had reached the level that recognition of more than one winner was appropriate. Accordingly, the name of the competition was changed to the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards. For 16 years, two or three prizes were awarded. Multiple awards were awarded beginning in 1986.

A significant trend was established in 1984 with the endowment of the Mary Wolfman Award.

Since that year, 12 additional prizes have been endowed through the NATS Foundation. Since 1989, all 14 semifinalists have received an award. The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz offered a scholarship to the first-place winner for many years. AIMS now offers scholarships to both the first and second place winners.

In 2002, MidAmerica Productions changed the prize from an appearance at Carnegie Hall to a New York Solo Recital Debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2010, Distinguished Concerts International New York took over sponsorship of the NATS Artist Awards performance prize until 2020.

Visit NATS.org for more information.