HP
Halie Poirier
  • Music
  • Class of 2018
  • Putnam, CT

Eastern Student Halie Poirier of Putnam Participates in National Singing Competition

2017 Dec 19

In early November eight students from Eastern Connecticut State University participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Connecticut Chapter competition in Storrs. The singers are students of Emily Riggs, associate professor of music at Eastern and president of the Connecticut Chapter of NATS. The event included a day of singing and workshops that included 100 singers from Connecticut.

Halie Poirier '18 of Putnam, a soprano, was one of the participating vocalists. Poirier's major is Music.

Poirier's repertoire included "S'altro Che Lacrime" (Italian) by Mozart, "Con Que la Lavare?" (Spanish) by Joaquin Rodrigo, "Die Nacht" (German) by Richard Strauss and "Screw Spring" by Richard Hundley.

"I did my best at the competition and I was happy with my performance. The competition is pretty tough in Connecticut - all of the singers involved are very talented and serious about their art. It's a really cool community of students. I always gain lessons and value the feedback from the judges. That's why I like to compete - the judges give me unbiased opinions and tips for better performance in the future. I take the comments very seriously and continue learning as much as I can," said Poirier.

Singers performed and received written feedback as part of the organization's longstanding tradition. NATS student auditions have been an integral part of the association, allowing singers to receive important evaluation and teachers the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with colleagues and hear a variety of musical styles through live performance.

A singer must be a student of a current NATS member in order to participate in NATS student auditions. The singer's participation category is determined by a variety of factors including musical style, the amount of time they have studied voice, age and other factors. More than 80 NATS chapters from the organization's 14 regions hold student auditions each year.