Oakwood Student Wins Classical Singer Competition

Huntsville, Ala.:  On Sunday May 30, 2010, Whitney Morrison, a vocal performance and pedagogy student of the Oakwood University Department of Music, won First Place in the National Classical Singer University Competition.  Morrison, a voice student of Julie Moore Foster, qualified along with two other semi-finalists Laurie Gardiner and Tamara Richards, also Oakwood students.

The Competition was held May 28 – 30 at New York City’s Marriott Marquis, at Times Square.  Morrison progressed through a total of three semi-final rounds with a win.  The winning aria was, “Se il ciel mi divide,” from Alessandro nelle Idie,by Niccolo Piccinni. She also performed “At Saint Patrick's Purgatory,” from the Hermit Songs of Samuel Barber.

Judges’ comments ranged from “A fabulous voice,” “terrific singing,” “vibrant and expressive,” to “dramatic intention, with an excellent choice of repertoire.”

In early March of this year, Oakwood’s Peters Hall served as one of 38 national locations for the first round of the Classical Singer University Competition,  In addition to Oakwood students, competitors also included music students from UA Huntsville and Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Contestants brought their own rendition of operatic arias and classical songs by classical composers, such as Mozart. The four winners from the March 2 competition at Oakwood were: OU students Laurie Gardiner, Whitney Morrison, and Tamara Richards, who study under Julie Moore Foster; and UAH student Marilyn West, who studies under Karen Young.