A record number of students in the South Carolina School of the Arts at 午夜剧场 qualified for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Semi-Finals in a variety of categories. Harper Krimm won second place in her Commercial Music category as well as qualifying for the Semi-Finals in her Musical Theater category. She sang 鈥淯se Me,鈥� a hit song from the seventies by Bill Withers.听听
Krimm was accompanied in the Finals by Nathan Fowler, a Worship Leadership major at AU and an extraordinary guitar player. Molly Tripp accompanied on piano Krimm and听all of the students in the Semi-final round. 听
According to Associate Professor of Music Deirdre Welborn, these students have been through many rounds of adjudication to get to this point.听听
Placing second in the Commercial Music category is special for Krimm, since this is the first year for the category to appear in NATS competition.听
鈥�I love performing live, and getting to perform for people that don鈥檛 usually watch me was extra special as well,鈥� said Krimm. 鈥淭o create connections in a different area of the country was really great. I got to meet musicians from Seattle and Hawaii and all sorts of places.鈥�听
Krimm, whose parents are 午夜剧场 alumni, looks forward to returning to AU for her junior year.听
鈥淭his year I get to be the band leader for AUthenticity. We鈥檙e currently up in the studios recording an album to be released,” she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about that, too.鈥�听
The students below are the top 14 from across the United States and including several international qualifiers as well. They sang in the Semi-Final Round at the National Student Auditions Semi-Finals at the NATS National Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, June 27-30.听听听
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Semi-Finalists听听
(Top 14 students in each category from across the US and some international chapters)听
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Nathaneal Browne 鈥� Musical Theater, Lower College, Tenor, Baritone, Bass 鈥� student of Seth Killen听
D鈥橝ndre Hicks 鈥� Hall Johnson Spirituals 鈥� student of Seth Killen听
D鈥橝ndre Hicks 鈥� Musical Theater, Lower College Tenor, Baritone, Bass 鈥� student of Seth Killen听
Harper Krimm 鈥� Commercial Music, Lower College Treble 鈥� student of Deirdre Welborn听
Harper Krimm 鈥� Musical Theater, Lower College Treble 鈥� student of Deirdre Welborn听
Gabe Pattersonn* 鈥� Commercial Music Lower College Tenor, Baritone, Bass 鈥� student of Seth Killen听
Evelyn Ruff 鈥� Musical Theater, Upper College, Treble 鈥� student of Deirdre Welborn听听
Jacob Sabella 鈥� Musical Theater, Lower College, Tenor, Baritone, Bass 鈥� student of Seth Killen听
Sydney Wells 鈥� Commercial Music, Upper College Treble 鈥� student of Deirdre Welborn听
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Other students advanced to the Preliminary round and Quarter Final round but were not selected for the Semi-Final Round:听
Scarlett Freeman 鈥� CM Lower College, Treble, Preliminary Round 鈥� student of Seth Killen听
Sydney Loop 鈥� Classical, First Year College, Treble, Preliminary Round 鈥� student of Deirdre Welborn听
Rebecca Menoni 鈥� MT Upper College, Treble, Preliminary Round and Quarter Final Rounds 鈥� student of Deirdre Welborn听
Isabella Murrell 鈥� MT Upper College, Treble, Preliminary Round and Quarter Final Rounds 鈥� student of Joel Dupont听
Mattie Murdock 鈥� CM Lower College, Treble, Preliminary Round 鈥� student of Alex Birch听
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听*Gabe Patterson was selected as a Semi-Finalist but was unable to participate due to an injury just before the NSA Semi-Finals听