Western Illinois University Voice Student Chosen for National Competition
MACOMB, IL – A student of Western Illinois University Assistant Professor of Voice Penelope Shumate was recently one of only 14 singers in the United States chosen to compete in his division in the upcoming National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) vocal competition.
Joshua Pitt, a sophomore vocal performance and music education major, of Racine, WI, initially won first place in the regional NATS vocal competition in Fall 2019. He won the award in the Lower Classical Tenor/Baritone/Bass Division to be eligible to compete at the national level. Because of the coronavirus, Pitt competed by YouTube video.
Pitt will now compete as one of only 14 semifinalists in the Lower Classical Tenor/Baritone/Bass Division in an online competition June 17-20. The top three finalists will be announced the afternoon of Sunday, June 21, in a live Facebook broadcast. Finalists will compete as part of the NATS Virtual National Conference June 24-30.
This is the second year in a row a student from Shumate’s voice studio has been chosen for the national competition. Her student, senior music therapy and vocal performance major Claire Ryterski, of Columbia, IL, was a national semi-finalist in 2019, after also winning first place at the regional level of the NATS Vocal Competition.
For more information about the competition, visit nats.org/national_student_auditions.html. For more information about the WIU School of Music, visit wiu.edu/music.
