JOHNSON CITY – A number of vocal performance students in East Tennessee State University's department of music recently earned honors in regional and state competition.
In the Music Teachers National Association Tennessee Chapter competitions held at Middle Tennessee State University, Katie Powell and Ally Powell, both freshmen from Johnson City majoring in vocal performance, earned first place and runner up, respectively, in the Senior Performance category. In the Young Artist Performance category, first place went to Amber Harrington, a junior vocal performance major from Marion, Virginia, and Alec Castro was runner up. Castro, who graduated from ETSU on May 7 with a bachelor's degree in vocal performance, earned a scholarship for graduate study in early music beginning this fall at Indiana University's Jacob School of Music.
As first-place winners from the Tennessee Chapter competitions, Katie Powell and Harrington went on to MTNA Regionals, which were held in Tampa, Florida. Harrington received an honorable mention.
Ally Powell and Harrington, along with fellow students Catherine Raible, Kimberly Grez, Mark Shelton, Holly Wilcoxson and Reilly Williams, also attended the National Association of Teachers of Singing regional auditions, which were held at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, with over 300 singers participating.
Semi-finalists in that competition from ETSU included Ally Powell; Harrington; Grez, a freshman vocal performance major from Nashville; and Williams, a Johnson City resident who is a senior at University School and enrolled in the ETSU Department of Music's Pre-College Program. Ally Powell also won third place in the Freshman/Woman category, earning the opportunity to compete in the NATS National Student Auditions, which will be held in Chicago in July.
In addition, Williams was a preliminary third-place winner in the Classical Singers Vocal Competition, earning the privilege of competing in the semi-finals in Boston later in May. She achieved a superior rating at the Appalachian Music Teachers Association and will compete at the state level, and will also enter the Tennessee Music Teachers Association competition in June.
