A-State Music Students Advance to Regional Level in MTNA Competition
JONESBORO -- Two Arkansas State University music majors, Cori Beasley of Gilmer, Texas, and Barrett Kelly of Walnut Ridge, will travel to Ouachita Baptist University in January to compete as division finalists in the Music Teachers National Association’s Young Artist vocal and piano division.
Both earned this opportunity after winning the Young Artist Division at the state round earlier this month. The regional competition will take place Jan. 12-13 during the MTNA regional conference.
Other ASU students receiving honors in the competition were Michelle Byrd, soprano, alternate, and Yuta Nishimura, piano, honorable mention.
Kelley, of Walnut Ridge, won first prize in piano at the Delta Symphony Orchestra 2011 Concerto Competition, first prize in the Treble Clef Club Scholarship Competition, and third prize in the Beethoven Club competition in Memphis in 2011. He is a Bachelor of Music student in piano performance. He performed with the ASU Orchestra in 2012 as winner of the first ever ASU Concerto Competition, and played in the 2011 ASU Honors Recital, both as a soloist and chamber musician. He was a semi-finalist in the Mid-South Fair Talent Competition. Barrett was a featured soloist at the Schubert Club in Walnut Ridge, the ASU Steinway Gala Concert last November, and several other university fundraising events. He played in a master class with Dr. Jennifer Hayghe. He has been a soloist and member of the ASU Jazz Band. Barrett studies under Dr. Lauren Schack Clark, associate professor of music.
Beasley, a soprano, studies voice with Dr. Marika Kyriakos as a junior vocal performance major. Her awards include first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Southern Region auditions, the Arkansas State University Concerto Competition, and the Treble Clef Club Scholarship auditions. In the spring of 2011, she was selected as a soloist within the American Choral Directors Association National Women’s Honor Choir. She performed in the 2012 ASU Honors Recital as a soloist. Beasley also is involved in the ASU Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. She is a student member of the American Choral Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association, and Sigma Alpha Iota.
The three-tiered MTNA competitions begin at the state level. Winners of each state competition advance to the division competition. Division winners then advance to the national competition finals.
Music Teachers National Association is a non-profit organization comprised of 22,000 independent and collegiate music teachers committed to advancing the value of music study and music-making to society and to supporting the professionalism of music teachers. Founded in 1876, MTNA is the oldest professional music association in the United States.
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