Edward Baird Singer of the Year (Fall, even years)
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. For 2024, Preliminaries will be held on Wednesday, November 6 and Finals on Saturday, November 9. All events are in person at Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX. Registration will open on August 26 and close on October 2.
Eligibility
- How to qualify:
- A student applicant’s current teacher must be a NATS member at good standing at the tie of the application.
- A student applicant must have studied with a NATS teacher continuously for at least one academic year.
- NATS members who qualify under paragraph 2, 3, and 4 below may enter independently, without sponsorship of a teacher.
- Each applicant must be at least 21 years of age, but not more than 35 years of age on the deadline entry date.
- 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.
- Applicants (NATS members) who do not enter under the sponsorship of a NATS teacher must maintain their legal residence in the Texoma Region.
- First-place winners of previous Texoma Edward Baird Singer of the Year competitions are not eligible to compete.
- The final decision on all matters of eligibility rests with the Governor of the Texoma Region of NATS.
Applications
The application entry form will be available beginning Monday, August 26. Applications must be submitted online by 6 pm (Central time) Wednesday, October 2. Late applications will not be accepted.
Each applicant must submit:
1. Completed Online Entry Form.
2. $50.00 entry fee. This fee is non-refundable. Payment will be completed after registration closes on October 2nd. An email with a payment link will be sent by Texoma NATS Treasurer Dr. Gregory Brookes. You must complete the payment by October 5th, otherwise your registration will be considered incomplete and will be cancelled.
3. All required information, including all repertoire selection titles, composers, keys of performance, and accurate timings of each selection, is necessary for application submission.
4. No late submissions will be accepted.
5. Applicants will need to scan and submit an original copy of proof of age, such as Birth Certificate, Driver’s License, or Passport to competition chair prior to the competition. Instructions for doing this will be provided after registration.
Copyright Regulations
Strict adherence to the NATS Policy on Copyright will be enforced without exception.
• NATS Policy on Copyright
Repertoire
Repertoire must be entered in the exact order listed below (beginning with aria from an opera, then oratorio, onto selections from Groups I-IV in order).
1. Participants in the Texoma EB-SOTY competition must perform from a program conforming to the categories below.
a. An aria from an opera to be sung in the original language and key.
b. An aria from a major oratorio, mass, requiem, or cantata to be sung in the original key.
c. Twelve (12) additional recital selections divided into four groups. The number of pieces in each group may vary but must total 12 in all, and each group except the English set must have at least two selections therein.
- Group I: Songs or arias composed before 1800. No more than two arias may be included in this group. (Example composers: J.S. Bach, Byrd, Caccini, Dowland, Gluck, Handel, Lully, Pergolesi)
- Group II: German Lieder or French Mélodies. (Example composers: Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Haydn, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Berlioz, Bizet, Chausson, Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Hahn, Milhaud, Ravel)
- Group III: A second group of National Art Songs consisting of any languages that are not presented in Groups II and IV.
- Group IV: American, Canadian, or British Art Songs. Art songs with English as the original language. A minimum of three songs must be included in this group.
- Special note – At least one art song composed after 1950 (not an arrangement of a folk song) must be included in Group II, III, or IV.
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. When the applicant has completed the online Registration Form, confirmed, and submitted it, a Repertoire Form will automatically load for your completion. The completed Repertoire Form includes all repertoire selection titles, composers, keys of performance, and accurate timings of each selection. Once the repertoire form 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
- 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.
- Participants will remain anonymous until the winners are announced. During the competition an assigned letter or number will identify them.
- 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.
- 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.
Click here to see a list of the EB SOTY Past Winners.
Edward Baird Singer of the Year Registration Instructions
- Review competition rules, regulations, repertoire requirements and eligibility under the “Edward Baird SOTY” tab at www.texomanats.org
2. Click here to register for EBSOTY.
3. After registration closes on October 2nd, you will be sent a payment link at the email address you registered with. You will have three days to complete your payment, otherwise your registration will be considered incomplete and cancelled.
Questions?
For questions regarding online registration, please contact:
• Mikhail Smigelski, Texoma Webmaster smigels.m@gmail.com
For questions regarding payments, please contact:
• Gregory Brookes, Treasurer/Registrar gregory.brookes@ttu.edu
For questions regarding repertoire and competition rules, please contact:
• Melinda Brou, SOTY Chair, melinda.brou@tamuk.edu