CVCC STUDENTS PARSONS, YANG PLACE IN STATE SINGING COMPETITION
Two Catawba Valley Community College music students recently placed at the state level of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition.
04/02/2021
Two Catawba Valley Community College music students recently placed at the state level of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition.
This is the fifth and sixth state competition wins for the CVCC music program.
“I am so proud of Ishmeal and Patrick for their accomplishments,” said Caroline Simyon, Director AFA in Music at CVCC. “Achieving these high marks always takes hard work and dedication, but watching these two overcome additional obstacles thrown at them this past year has been inspiring. They have, along with our entire CVCC family, learned to cultivate their talents no matter the circumstances.”
Despite several difficult challenges during auditioning, Parsons placed first in the state in the Spiritual category.
“With the video submission and being in an empty room without an audience to feed off of has its own complications,” said Parsons, who reaches the regional NATS level for the third time. “However, this time I was recovering from COVID-19. One day after quarantine ended I had to be up and ready to record for NATS. I was still short of breath, body aches, fatigued vocally and exhausted. When I saw I had made above a 90 — let alone getting first place — I was really shocked and honored. Simyon has always told me winners are made in the practice rooms. So, this time around I think that’s apparent more than ever. I am grateful for this ongoing experience.”
A NATS state runner-up last spring, Yang added a third-place finish to his resumé in the classical men's category.
“My try out and performance were an amazing experience,” Yang said. “Making it this far in the NATS competition has truly been an honor, and Mrs. Simyon is a huge key to my success. As she says ‘Get out of your head and into the music.’ I also want to give a big shout out to (CVCC music instructor) Freda Harrell for always helping me with rhythms and for being my accompaniment.”
Nine total students advanced to the regional level of NATS, which includes singing students from colleges and universities from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
For more information about the music program and the Associate in Fine Arts in Music degree at CVCC, please contact Simyon at csimyon@cvcc.edu.
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