Students Nicholas Andruzzi, Christian Souza, and Izzy Oyler brought home First Place prizes from the National Association of Teachers of Singing Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, held March 10 and 11 at Liberty University in Virginia.
Founded in 1944, National Association of Teachers of Singing (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 more than 35 other countries. The Mid-Atlantic Regional competition involves state winners in various categories from North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Thirteen UNC Charlotte students participated in the regional competition, having won North Carolina statewide auditions earlier in the year: Nicholas Andruzzi, Shannon Dailey, Sarah Freeman, Keilah Jones, Reem Nour, Izzy Oyler, Jack Richardson, Christian Souza, Bryan Stoenner, Jylian Taylor, Abby Williams, Charity Williams, and Haley Wright.
Andruzzi placed first in the Adult Classical Tenor/Baritone/Bass category, and Souza placed first in the Third Year Student Classical Tenor/Baritone/Bass category. Both are music majors who study voice with Dr. Brian Arreola. Oyler, a Musical Theatre Certificate student who studies voice with Dr. Sequina DuBose, placed first in the Second Year Student Musical Theatre Treble Voice category. Souza and Oyler will both advance to the National Student Auditions. The adult category does not advance.