Local Students Compete at NATS Competition

February 7, 2002

Oklahoma Baptist University students recently participating in the Texoma Regional auditions for the National Association of Teachers of Singing. One student placed first and others reached the semifinalist competition.

Lindsay Doolin, a vocal performance major from Lawton, Okla., received first place in the freshmen women's division. Doolin is from the studio of Rhetta Hudson, associate professor of music.

Julianne Wright, a vocal performance major from Plainview, Texas, was a semifinalist in the freshmen women's division. Jilian Russell, a vocal performance major from Chickasha, Okla., was a semifinalist in the sophomore women's division. Wright and Russell are both from Hudson's studio.

Daniel Pearson, a church music major from Sherman, Texas, was a semifinalist in the freshmen men's division. Pearson is from the studio of Dr. Jon Gruett, associate professor of music.

Church music major Elizabeth Finke from Independence, Mo., was a semifinalist in the sophomore women's division. She is from the studio of Norma Partridge, OBU associate professor of music.

Erin Cain, a senior music education major from Tucson, Ariz., was a semifinalist in the senior women's division. She is from the studio of Dr. Don Clark, OBU associate professor of music.

The Texoma region had 640 students audition this year from universities in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. OBU sent 18 students to the competition.

OBU, a liberal arts college in Shawnee, Okla., offers bachelor's degrees in 75 fields of study. The university is ranked second among comprehensive colleges in the West by U.S. News and World Report. OBU had an enrollment of 1,933 last fall.