Five Centenary music students take home prizes at regional competition
SHREVEPORT, LA — Following three days of competition against students from over 20 colleges and universities from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, five students from Centenary's Hurley School of Music won prizes at the 2019 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) annual southern regional competition. The event was held November 8 through 10 at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Eight of the nine Centenary students who attended the competition were semi-finalists, and five won awards. The winners will go on to compete at the NATS national conference in June 2020.
Centenary winners include:
· Carlos Romero – 1st place in Upper College Senior Men division
· Jazzirae Robinson – 1st place in Lower College Treble
· Madelyn Stewart – 2nd place in Lower College Treble
· Zipphora Nicole Hyman – 3rd place in Upper College Treble
· Dart Bennett – 4th place in Lower College Treble
Hurley students Johnathon Lowery, Adam Born, Carson Alvarez, and Thomas Southener also attended the NATS convention to represent Centenary. Zipphora Hyman is a student of former Hurley Dean Dr. Gale Odom. All other Centenary singers are students of Paulina Villareal, who joined the Hurley faculty as assistant professor of music in fall 2019.
“The Hurley School of Music has had a long and celebrated tradition of vocal excellence, due in no small part to the extraordinary teaching of professor emerita and former dean, Dr. Gale Odom,” says Dr. Cory Wikan, acting dean at Hurley. “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Paulina Villarreal to our faculty, and are exceedingly proud of the gifted young artists who competed and won at NATS.”