Music Students Win NANM Scholarships

UNC Charlotte music students Tyrez Dabbs, Mary Layton, Tiffanie Briggs and Adrian Fullerwinder recently competed in the statewide scholarship competition hosted by the North Carolina Branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) and held at UNC Chapel Hill on January 30. Tyrez Dabbs and Mary Layton won second and third place, respectively. The 2016 NANM scholarship competitions are in the category of voice.

Additionally, Assistant Professor of Voice Carl DuPont was officially installed as Vice-President of the North Carolina Branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians. NANM was founded in Chicago in 1919, making it the country’s oldest organization dedicated to the encouragement, preservation, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African Americans. Since awarding its first scholarship to Marian Anderson in 1919, NANM has provided scholarships for hundreds of young musicians, many of them at the start of prominent careers.

This past summer, Tyrez Dabbs was also a finalist in the National Student Auditions, held at UNC Greensboro at the NATS National Conference on July 7, 2015. More than 150 students competed in 12 categories. Tyrez competed against college voice majors from across North Carolina.