So I spent Friday and Saturday in Appleton, Wisconsin at the annual state competition sponsored by NATS- the National Association of Teachers of Singing. And considering all that our students have been through lately- a wave of illness, a last minute change in accompanist, plus the usual encroachment of competing / distracting obligations. . . they did pretty darn well. In fact, a Carthage student – Vanessa Schroeder – won first place in her division, Upper College Women’s Musical Theater, giving her the distinction of being (I’m almost certain) Carthage’s very first NATS winner. (We have had several second and third-place singers, which is no small feat – but no first place winners, at least since 1991 when I began teaching there.) A second student, Maureen Toomey, earned third place in Lower College Women’s Musical Theater – and Jillian Swanson made it into the semi-finals of Freshmen Women, the largest division in the entire competition. This is a very respectable showing for Carthage, which finds itself locking horns with huge music schools like Lawrence, UW-Madison, UW-Stevens Point, Viterbo, etc. There have been years when we have gotten only one single singer into finals – and one of these years we may suffer the sadness of having no finalists at all . . . so to have several singers advance feels mighty good. And to have two of the three be freshmen is a nice sign of hope for the future.
Of course, it would be nice to see even more of our students advancing – if for no other reason than that it would give them the chance to sing their songs more than once. (It’s a long way to travel and a fair amount of expense for what amounts to less than ten minutes of singing.) But NATS is a tricky thing and the competition gets only tougher with each passing year, so you never can tell. I felt especially badly for a trio of fine senior women, two of whom made it to the semi-finals last year. This time around they sang even better than a year ago, but none of them made it into the next round. It’s a killer division with some superb singers from other schools, but still . . . I wanted and frankly expected to see all three of them in the semis
I would also have loved to see one of my five students in the competition advance, but the fact of the matter is that the quality of all the men’s divisions has grown tremendously over the years and advancing is becoming tougher and tougher. I had a great streak going there for four years straight where I had a student in the finals (two second places, one third place, and one honorable mention) but unfortunately my current streak is three years without any of my students advancing. That’s despite the fact that I’m a better voice teacher than I was and my students are increasingly talented, but that is not necessarily enough. Of course to dwell on who gets into finals and who doesn’t is to miss the main point of these auditions, which is to sing the best you can and receive helpful criticism from expert jurists- plus hearing other singers and learning from what they do – and (one hopes) drawing inspiration from the excellence of one’s peers to step up your own musical efforts.
I say that winning and losing doesn’t matter and I mean it. . . but unfortunately (or fortunately) I am also someone who has known the glory of winning NATS myself. I won first place for my age group as a freshman, as a sophomore, and as a junior. (I didn’t compete my senior year because the competition came right before my senior recital and I didn’t want the distraction nor the pressure of trying to be a four-time champ.) So to say that I don’t fervently wish that joy for one of my own students would be a bald-faced lie. And truth be told, having a student of mine win NATS would feel like the most emphatic possible endorsement of my worth as a teacher. Saturday, I sat there as a former classmate from both Luther and UNL, Brian Leeper- now a teacher at UW- Whitewater- saw not one but two of his students win first place in their respective divisions. I was thrilled for him but in light of my own cold streak it’s hard not to feel a little like Brian is Sheriff Andy Taylor and I’m Deputy Barney Fife in the voice teacher business. Of course it’s stupid to attach your own sense of worth to something as unpredictable and capricious as a NATS competition, but I’m only human. (At least I could feel a little bit of pride that a former high school student of mine took first place in Junior Men.)
In the end, you have to remember that NATS – and any competition like it – is going to be an inherently incomplete experience because each and every singer is being heard by complete strangers who have no idea where that singer has come from, what past faults have been addressed, what hidden demons they have perhaps been struggling with, and so on. I think of two of my upper classmen who several years ago were pretty much content to stand like sticks and convey almost nothing of a given song’s real meaning – with almost no facial expression whatsoever. The change they have managed in this respect is amazing and so inspiring to me. . . and if NATS could somehow give awards for Most Improved, they would both be in line for first place trophies. I can only hope that they are well aware of the exciting growth they have demonstrated as singers, and that the joy of knowing that will equal or even exceed the joy of being a NATS finalist.
By the way, Amy and I both believe that we had an exceptionally nice group of students entered this year- who were so supportive of one another and very philosophical about the disappointment that always comes with NATS. That was especially evident Friday night when we all went out together for a delicious and gigantic meal at The Machine Shed. Throughout much of the meal, I was so happy to see so many smiles on their faces. The day’s disappointments had been left behind them by that point and it was time to simply enjoy the good gifts of wonderful food, wonderful friends, and of course the privilege of being singers.
pictured: Carthage students at the Machine Shed in Appleton, an amazing restaurant which serves you the kind of satisfying meal which a farm family might enjoy together on a Sunday afternoon.