USD Voice Students Win Awards at North Dakota District NATS Auditions
USD won 22 of the 35 awards given.
Competing schools included USD, North Dakota State University, Minot State University, Dickinson State University and Black Hills State University.
“South Dakota NATS did not host any auditions this year, so we were fortunate to be able to join the North Dakota auditions,” said Tracelyn Gesteland, DMA, professor of voice/opera and the Walter A. and Lucy Yoshioka Buhler Endowed Chair. “It was a great experience for our students to be able to sing for a whole new group of adjudicators and to hear singers from other programs. They represented themselves and USD extremely well.”
Results from the studio of Gesteland
First Place Awards
- Fourth/Fifth-Year Treble - Denisse Balandran, senior vocal performance major from Storm Lake, Iowa
- Third-Year Treble - Katelyn Privett, junior music education major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Third-Year TBB - Brian Shirley, junior musical arts and business major from Rapid City, South Dakota
- Second-Year Treble- Maleah Wright, sophomore vocal performance and music education major from Kearney, Nebraska
- Upper Musical Theatre Treble - Margaret Meierhenry, senior musical arts major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Upper Musical Theatre TBB - Brian Shirley
- Lower MT Treble - Maleah Wright
- Lower MT TBB - Jacob Olson, freshman music education major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Adult Treble - Garrett Adam, senior vocal and flute performance major from Yankton, South Dakota
Second Place Awards
- Advanced Treble - Lauren Paul, graduate vocal performance major from Evansville, Wisconsin
- Fourth/Fifth-Year Treble - Margaret Meierhenry
- Fourth/Fifth-Year TBB - Adam Lange, senior vocal performance major from Yankton, South Dakota
- Upper MT Treble - Denisse Balandran
Third Place Awards
- Advanced Treble - Abigail Rockhill, graduate vocal performance major from Orange City, Iowa
- First-Year TBB - Jacob Olson
- Upper MT Treble - Katelyn Privett
Results from the studio of Juan Carlos Mendoza, DMA, assistant professor of voice/opera
First Place Award
- Adult TBB - Marcus Klassen, senior vocal performance major from Elmira, Canada
Second Place Awards
- Lower MT Treble - Alexis Meyer, freshman music education major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Lower MT TBB - Josh Styskal, sophomore musical arts major from Columbus, Nebraska
Third Place Awards
- Second-Year Treble - Alma Sejmenović, sophomore musical arts major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Second-Year TBB - Josh Styskal
- Lower MT Treble- Shaelyn Laferty, sophomore vocal performance and music education major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Collaborative pianists were Deanna Wehrspann, Carson Covey and Grace Gasperich.
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