Five Lawrence University Students Capture Top Honors at State Singing Competition

APPLETON, WIS. — Highlighted by Lacey Benter’s fourth consecutive state title, five Lawrence University students earned first-place honors at the 2008 Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held Nov. 7-8 at UW-Whitewater.

Benter, Southport, Fla., earned top honors in the senior women’s division after having won the lower college women’s musical theatre division, the freshman and junior women division in previous NATS competitions. She is student of Associate Professor Karen Leigh Post.

Four other Lawrence students and a Lawrence graduate also won their respective divisions. A total of 53 Lawrence students participated, with 13 advancing to the finals.

Other Lawrence first-place finishers included Alex Johnson, Shelburne, Vt., in the freshman men’s division; Cassie Glaeser, Manitowoc, in the sophomore women’s division; Derrell Acon, St. Louis, Mo., in the junior men’s division; and Christopher Besch, Woodbury, Minn., in the senior men’s division.

Andrew Lovato, a 2008 Lawrence graduate, won the continuing senior men’s division, while Ariana Douglas, a senior at Appleton North High School, earned first-place honors in the high school women’s division.

Johnson and Glaeser are both students of Leigh-Post. Acon studies with Professor Patrice Michaels. Besch studies with Assistant Professor Steven Spears and Lovato is a student of Professor Ken Bozeman. Douglas studies with Bryan Post, a private voice coach who also teaches at the Lawrence Academy of Music.

All first-place finishers were awarded $150 for their winning efforts, while second- and third-place finishers received $125 and $100, respectively.

A total of 395 singers from around the state competed in 20 separate divisions by gender and level in this year’s auditions. Depending upon the category, NATS competitors are required to sing two, three or four classical pieces from different time periods with at least one selection sung in a foreign language.