OU Students Compete in Music Competition

Oakwood University was one of 38 national locations for the first round of the Classical Singer University Competition, held in the Peters Hall Auditorium on March 2.  Competitors were music students from Oakwood University, UAHuntsville and Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Judges were:  Dr. Erin Colwitz of UAHuntsville , Professor Dina Cancryn of Middle Tennessee State University, and Oakwood’s newest music faculty member Dr. Suzzane Galer.  Contestants brought their own rendition of operatic arias and classical song by classical composers such as Mozart.   The four winners were:  Oakwood students Laurie Gardiner, Whitney Morrison, and Tamara Richards, who study under Mrs. Julie Moore Foster; and UAH student Marilyn West, who studies under Karen Young.  These winners will advance to the second round, and have the chance to compete in New York City on May 28, 2010 for scholarships, summer programs and monetary prizes.

Tamara Richards, a finalist said that the competition “gave me the opportunity to perform what I've been learning for this past semester. It (...) gave me an idea of what I need to expect and prepare for.” Realizing that Oakwood is a small school, with a relatively small Music Department, “we (music majors) do not have many outlets to showcase our talents,” she said.   Richards was somewhat surprised to she was chosen to be a finalist, but is “excited and thankful to represent Oakwood, along with Whitney Morrison and Laurie Gardiner in New York in May. I expect that that there will be much more talent and I know I have a lot of work to do. That includes choosing more competitive pieces and working on technique.”

Congratulations to Oakwood’s winners, and we wish them well in the second round.

~~by Jasmine Jenkins, Student Writer – Public Relations Office