NATS

I love going to the NATS student auditions. I wasn't able to go on Friday this year, but spent all day Saturday there. It's fun to connect with colleagues that I don't get to see often. It's also nice to hear singers that are more advanced than my own who are mostly just beginner high school students. Each year, I'm also reminded of some very important things.

1. It is so important to choose the right rep for each voice. It can make or break an audition. A gorgeous voice singing something that is not right for him or her will not sound good.

2. We don't always sing our best every time we open our mouths. I was surprised that some of the singers in the finals had made it to finals. But, I also judged a semi-finals round and heard different things from those singers in the finals than I did in the the semi-finals round. The girl who won had had a good semi-finals round, but based on all her rep, I wouldn't have chosen her as the winner. But, in the finals round, she sang her best song and she owned it. It had been good at semi-finals, but was great at finals.

3. We all have different preferences for the tone we want to hear. I was a little surprised by some of the rankings in the finals, but it was not because I was wrong, as much as that there were other teachers who had a different preference.

4. Even when they are no longer studying with you, your students are always your students. I was so proud of one of my former students, now in her junior year of college, that won her division.

Overall it was a great day.