For Immediate Release
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UTB/TSC Choral Students Place At Competition
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – APRIL 9, 2009 -- Three choral students at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College placed in the top two in their divisions at the South Texas Region National Association of Teachers of Singing competition on Saturday, April 4, at Texas State University – San Marcos.
In the first round, the more than 200 students representing the region’s collegiate choral programs from Austin to Brownsville had to sing three prepared pieces in less than 10 minutes. Students averaging a 90, or scoring a 90 twice, among the three judges were moved into a second round. The students that had the three top scores in each division then moved to the finals.
Alfonso Gonzalez, 21, a senior music education – vocal major from Brownsville, won the Division X Senior Men. Gonzalez sings tenor in the UTB/TSC Master Chorale. He won the same division last year, and placed second in the division in 2007.
He performed “Silent Noon” by Ralph Vaughn Williams, “Der Erikomig” by Franz Schubert and “Questa O Quella” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto.”
Gonzalez sang the Verdi piece in the final round and alsoperformed the song during the Master Chorale’s performance tour of Italy from March 14-21.
“I think singing in Italy really did prepare me for singing for this competition,” he said. “It just gave me a confidence to achieve success.”
Two students, both sopranos in the Master Chorale, placed second in their divisions.
Rebecca Gamboa, 24, a senior music education – vocal major from San Benito, competed in Division AA Adult Advanced.
Deanna Errisurriz, 19, a sophomore music education major from Brownsville, was runner-up in Division V Sophomore Women.
This was the first year she participated in the NATS competition.
“NATS was a great learning experience, and second place means there’s room for improvement,” Errisurriz said. “Like all the other recent experiences, NATS was just another stepping stone in my becoming a better musician.”
Nine UTB/TSC choral students were semifinalists at the competition: Catarina Cabrera, Allison Chio, Michael Espinoza, Adam Gonzalez, Edgar Hernandez, Megan Pitcock, Victoria Rodriguez, Jessica Rosas and Jason Whitney. All are part of the Master Chorale.
The university had two first place winners and three semifinalists at last year’s South Texas NATS competition.
“I think the voice program here has significantly more quality,” said Amy Brownlow, a UTB/TSC voice instructor and director of the Bravo Opera Company. “We do require now for students to audition to get into the voice program, which has made a big difference in the quality of students. We do offer scholarships.”
The Master Chorale will perform at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 19, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown Brownsville.