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Edward Baird Singer of the Year

The purposes of the Texoma Region Edward Baird Singer of the Year Competition are (1) to select and award singers whose artistry qualifies them for entry to professional careers, (2) to encourage these young artists to carry on the tradition of fine singing as advocated by the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and (3) to provide an annual competition of professional quality equivalent to the NATS Artist Awards competitions, which are held every other spring. Selection of winners will be based upon present accomplishment rather than future potential.

The EBSOTY preliminaries are always held on the Wednesday preceding the annual fall conference and EBSOTY finals are held on the following Saturday.


RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMPETITION

Eligibility
  1. How to qualify:
    1. A student applicant's current teacher must be a NATS member in good standing at the time of the application.
    2. A student applicant must have studied with a NATS teacher continuously for at least one academic year.
    3. NATS members who qualify under paragraph 2, 3, and 4 below may enter independently, without sponsorship of a teacher.
  2. Each applicant must be at least 21 years of age, but not more than 35 years of age on the deadline entry date.
  3. Each student applicant must reside in the NATS Texoma Region (New Mexico, Oklahoma, or Texas), or study with a teacher who resides in the NATS Texoma Region.
  4. Applicants (NATS members) who do not enter under the sponsorship of a NATS teacher must maintain their legal residence in the Texoma Region.
  5. First-place winners of previous Texoma Edward Baird Singer of the Year competitions are not eligible to compete.
  6. The final decision on all matters of eligibility rests with the Governor of the Texoma Region of NATS.


Applications

  1. Application packets containing all items listed below must be submitted online by or postmarked on or before the due date OCTOBER 10.  Late applications will not be accepted.
  2. Each applicant must submit:
    1. Completed Online Entry Form.
    2. $50.00 entry fee.  This fee is non-refundable.
    3. Completed Online Repertoire Form which includes all repertoire selection titles, composers, keys of performance, and accurate timings of each selection.
    4. Proof of applicant's age, such as photocopies of birth certificate, driver's license, or passport will be required at check-in.
    5. All required information is necessary for application submission.
    6. No late submissions will be accepted.
  3. Applicants must bring original copy of proof of age to the competition.


Auditions

  1. Applicants will receive details of the competition schedule at least one week before the preliminary auditions. Contestants and pianists must expect the competition to begin at approximately 10:00 AM on the Wednesday of the conference and to run through the afternoon. If the competition attracts a large number of applicants, there may be two preliminary rounds and a semifinals round. Appearance order will be determined through random placement by the Governor.  Singers may not request certain times of the day or order of appearance.  Singers are responsible for informing accompanists of the schedule of the competition.  The scheduled appearance cannot be changed because of accompanist problems.
  2. Preliminaries: The EB SOTY Preliminaries will be held on the campus where the Texoma Region conference is held on the Wednesday of the conference. The judges will select three (3) finalists.
  3. Finals: The three finalists will compete at one of the afternoon or evening sessions of the conference. We will announce the EB SOTY winners following the final round.
  4. Prizes: First Place: $1000.00; Second Place $500.00; and Third Place $250.00.
  5. Accompanists: Singers must provide their own pianists.
  6. Singers who enter EB SOTY competition may also enter any of the other Texoma region auditions for which they qualify. The three singers who are chosen for competition in the finals must withdraw from the student auditions. Their region audition fee will be refunded, if requested.  Participation in this EB SOTY competition does not affect the singer's eligibility to compete in any NATS Artist Awards (NATSAA) competition.
  7. If the judges determine that none of the singers' performances justify advancement to finals, no final competition will be held, nor winners named.


Copyright Regulations

Copyright regulations must be observed. Accompanists must play from lawful copies without exception.


Repertoire

  1. Participants in the Texoma EB-SOTY competition must perform from a program conforming to the categories below, and must be prepared to sing any of those compositions at the preliminary or final round.
    1. One aria from an opera, to be sung in the original key, in the original language or in an English translation.
    2. One aria from an oratorio, mass, requiem, cantata, or similar work, to be sung in the original key.
    3. An additional recital program of at least twelve (12) selections with no fewer than 2 selections in each category listed below. This program must include a variety of styles, composers, and historical periods.
      • Category 1: Songs or arias composed before 1800. (Example composers: J. S. Bach, Byrd, Caccini, Dowland, Gluck, Handel, Lully, Pergolesi)
      • Category 2: German Lieder, sung in German. (Example composers: Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Haydn, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf)
      • Category 3: French chansons (melodies, etc.,) sung in French. (Example composers: Berlioz, Bizet, Chausson, Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Hahn, Milhaud, Ravel)
        OR
        (Category 3) Spanish, Russian, Latin-American, Slavic, Scandinavian, or other national art songs, sung in their original language or in English translation.
      • Category 4: Art songs composed after 1900 for English-language texts.  These must be performed in English.
      • Special Note:  At least one art song composed after 1950 (not an arrangement of a folk song) must be included in Group 2, 3, or 4.
  2. Note that Sections A and B above (arias) are in addition to the full recital program requirement and in addition to the twelve selection minimum within Section C. (Each contestant must submit a minimum full total of fourteen selections.)
  3. Except for the aria chosen under Section B above (oratorio, et al) all repertoire must be performed without score (from memory).
  4. Any questions concerning the repertoire above should be addressed to the Governor of the Texoma Region.
  5. Once the repertoire list has been submitted, no changes or substitutions can be made unless original music cannot be located or, in the case of out-of-print music, permission from the copyright owner cannot be obtained.


Judging

  1. A panel of three judges will judge Preliminaries and Finals. Any teacher whose student is competing will not be eligible to serve as judge for that round. Applicants remain anonymous to the judges. If any contestant is found to be a former student of one of the judges, that judge will not submit scores for that singer's appearance and the average will be based on the other two scores.
  2. Participants will remain anonymous until the winners are announced. During the competition they will be identified by an assigned letter or number.
  3. Audition time limits:  Preliminary round (Wednesday): Not less than 10 minutes actual singing time.  Final round: Not less than 15 minutes actual singing time. Timing begins with the announcement of the first selection and continues until the minimum time is exceeded.
  4. The singers may begin each round with one selection of their choice. The judges will select the remainder of the program.

All decisions of the judges are final.