USD Music Students Proceed to National Singing Competition
Winners from the national online screening round will advance to the live national semifinal round at the 2019 National Student Auditions, which will be held at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, on June 27-29.
The competition included students from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. USD students earned the following honors:
- Graduate student Kaitlin Pearson of Gretna, Nebraska – 1st Place in Advanced College Women
- Senior Eldon Warner of Council Bluffs, Iowa – 1st Place in 3rd Year College Men and 1st Place in Upper College Musical Theatre Men
- Junior Abby Beach of Lennox, South Dakota – 3rd Place in Upper College Musical Theatre Women
- Junior Bailey Quade of Rapid City, South Dakota – 4th Place in 3rd Year College Women
Pearson, Warner, Beach and Quade all study under Tracelyn Gesteland, D.M.A., associate professor of voice/opera and the Walter A. and Lucy Yoshioka Buhler Endowed Chair. Gesteland said she was excited to see the strong performance of the musicians at the regional competition.
“I am so proud of these students. They are all fine young artists and will represent USD and the music department well as they progress toward nationals,” Gesteland said.
For more information, visit usd.edu/music.
