On Saturday, April 9, Colorado State University vocal students participated in the 54th annual Colorado/Wyoming National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Founded in 1944, NATS is the largest professional association of teachers of singing in the world with more than 7,000 members in the United States, Canada, and nearly 30 other countries.

According to the organization’s website, NATS exists to “promote the highest standards of the vocal art and of ethical principles in the teaching of singing; and to promote vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented.”

Each year, students of NATS member teachers participate in an adjudicated competition at the state level, a valuable experience for students who receive detailed feedback on their performance. Colorado State University students placed in thirteen of the college level categories at the event.

“I was very proud of my students and their fantastic showing at NATS! CSU was very well represented today,” said Voice Area Coordinator Tiffany Blake, who also credited CSU’s collaborative pianists – Chris Reed, Karen Stoody, Madeline Heikkinen Greeb, and Gloria Choi – for making this year’s success possible.

Voice Professor John Seesholtz, who had ten students place or receive honorable mentions, paused to remind himself, and all of his students who participated, that art is not quantifiable. “If we allow ourselves to feel good about our craft only when we are recognized by others and competitions, then we lose the whole purpose of why we do this,” he encouraged them.

Seesholtz echoed the NATS principle of promoting singing for personal advancement and public enrichment. “Music transports people and has the power to shape the soul,” he mused. “Set personal goals for yourself as an artist and if you meet those goals, then you've won; as artists, we are only in competition with ourselves.”

That being said, NATS is an exciting marker of progress for CSU students and faculty who participate each year. Please join us in congratulating them on their numerous awards!