Vocal and Choral
Voice students receive one hour of private vocal instruction per week. Individual studios meet at 11 a.m. on Thursdays for a performance seminar where students have the opportunity to sing for one another. In early November, students sing competitively at the Texoma Region auditions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. UTSA students have consistently distinguished themselves as outstanding performers in this event. Students compete again in early April in the South Texas auditions of NATS. On campus, selected students have the opportunity to perform concert and operatic repertoire with orchestra in the UTSA Concerto and Aria Competition, in Lyric Opera productions, and in the Choral Masterwork in the fall. During the spring semester, the UTSA Lyric Opera program allows students to participate in full productions of operas, operettas, and musicals. UTSA students have appeared in major roles with the San Antonio Symphony and in supporting roles with the San Antonio Lyric Opera. Upper level voice students who have had course work in Vocal Pedagogy, have the opportunity to instruct young students from local middle schools and high schools. Through a NATS program to encourage the development of young teachers, they are able to establish NATS associate membership and enter their students in the South Texas event.
Course work in foreign language diction, opera literature, vocal literature, choral literature, conducting, and vocal pedagogy all help UTSA vocal/choral students build a firm foundation for successful careers in teaching and performance.
A particularly exciting development in the vocal area at UTSA is the recent addition of the Vocal Arts Laboratory. This laboratory, coordinated by John Nix, houses specialized equipment for the study of voice production. This cutting-edge facility makes world-class vocal research resources available to our distinguished voice faculty and students.
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