Music Students Take Top Honors in Competition

Five UALR singers participated in the Arkansas Chapter Spring Conference competitions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing last month in Searcy. UALR took three first-place titles and two semi-final wins in the highly competitive field that included entrants from universities and high schools all over the state. First place winners and their categories were:

• Rachel Manasco of Little Rock, freshmen women
• Satia Spencer of DeWitt, advanced women
• Sarah Blakey of Conway, older advanced women

Semi-finalists and their categories were:

• Katia Kotcherguina of Jackson, Miss., senior women
• Michael Lowe of Little Rock, freshmen men

All students currently study with UALR faculty instructor Diane Kesling. Of the 265 competitors, 134 advanced to the semi-finals and 35 to the finals. The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) was founded in 1944 and is now the largest association of teachers of singing in the world.