Newsroom

CORVALLIS - Oregon State University students Stephanie Hower and Megan Sand placed first in their divisions in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Cascade Chapter auditions at Western Oregon University.

Fourteen OSU voice students took part in the competition, which is open to singers throughout Oregon and southwest Washington who study with NATS members. "All these students represented us well," said Richard Poppino, director of vocal studies at OSU. "They were all well prepared and delivered their pieces with conviction. They all received very favorable comments."

Hower, a soprano, took top honors in both the Musical Theater II Women and the College I Women categories. College I Women is the second largest category in the auditions, second only to Pre-College Women in the number of singers participating. The designation II or I is determined by the age of the performer. Hower is a junior majoring in vocal performance and has performed in Seymour Barab's "Sleeping Beauty" as The Queen, and in the Opera Theater Corvallis/OSU Opera Workshop productions of "Albert Herring" and "The Fowl Opera Trilogy."

Sand, a mezzo-soprano and a senior in vocal performance at OSU, was the winner of the College II Women category. She also placed first in the same category last year.

"Finishing at the top of the heap in College II Women two years in a row is quite a rare achievement," Poppino said. Sand has performed in recent Opera Theater Corvallis/OSU Opera Workshop productions of "Albert Herring" and "The Fowl Opera Trilogy."

Both Hower and Sand were invited to perform in the NATS Honors Recital following the auditions. Other OSU students who participated are Jonathan Baltera, April Brown, Conrad Buck, Maria Carmichael, Delaney Deaver, Lauren Edison, Amy Gilson, Melissa Koenig, Kenny Lowe, Nick Strommer, Emily Thielen, and Ben Ward.