Mercer Hosts Winning Singers at Georgia Chapter of NATS Auditions

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MACON – On Friday, Feb. 21, and Saturday, Feb. 22, Mercer University’s Department of Music hosted the annual student auditions of the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) at the Allan & Rosemary McCorkle Music Building on campus.

NATS is the foremost organization of voice teachers in the world, and these auditions provide students with the opportunity to receive critical feedback as well as practice in the art of performing. The Georgia NATS auditions are highly competitive, with more than 200 students participating this year. The following students of Mercer voice faculty members placed as winners or semifinalists in their categories:

Robert Wooley of Macon and of Mount De Sales High School placed 1st in the High School Men’s category and David Arnold of Warner Robins received 3rd place in the Adult Men’s category. Both Wooley and Arnold are students of Mercer assistant professor, Dr. Charles Turley.

Melanie Cross of Montezuma, a Mercer sophomore, received 1st place in the Music Theater Women’s category and was a 3rd place semifinalist in the 2nd Year College Women’s category. Cross, who graduated from Southland Academy, is a student of faculty member, Marie Jarriel Roberts. Erin Keel of Martinez, another student of Roberts, received 2nd place in the 4th

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Mercer Hosts Winning Singers at GA Chapter of NATS Auditions

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Year College Women’s category. Keel, who graduated from Lakeside High School, is a senior music education major at Mercer.

Four Mercer students of Dr. Martha Malone, associate professor for voice and opera, also placed in the auditions. Sophomore and Cherokee High School graduate, Jamie Geiger of Canton, received 1st place in both the 2nd Year College Men’s and Music Theater Men’s categories. Junior music performance major and graduate of Fort Mill High School, Monica Murphy of Fort Mill, S.C., received 1st place in the 3rd Year College Women’s category. Junior music education major and Newnan High School graduate, Andy Lane of Newnan, received 3rd place in the 3rd Year College Men’s category. Senior music major and graduate of McIntosh High School, Ashleigh McDaniel of Peachtree City, was a 3rd place semifinalist in the 4th Year College Women’s category.

For a complete listing of all winners, please go to Mercer Music Department’s home page at www2.mercer.edu/Liberalarts/Arts_Humanities/Music/default.htm.

Founded in 1833, Mercer is a 7,300-student, comprehensive, Baptist-affiliated university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees through the College of Liberal Arts, the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, the Tift College of Education, the School of Engineering, the Walter F. George School of Law, the School of Medicine, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, the Southern School of Pharmacy, the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology and the College of Continuing and Professional Studies.

Mercer University has campuses in Macon and Atlanta and education centers in Douglas County, Covington, Griffin and Eastman. The University also operates the Mercer Engineering Research Center in Warner Robins and the Mercer University Press in Macon. For the past 13 years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Mercer among the leading universities in the South.

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