KINGSTON, R.I. – March 17, 2011 –If spring puts you in the mood for songs, then head for the University of Rhode Island’s Fine Arts Center at 105 Upper College Road, Kingston, on Saturday, April 2. On that date the RI Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) will present “Song Festival 2011,” which will feature competitions by student singers in two categories, recitals by the winners, and more. The public is invited to attend all parts of the day’s activities in the concert hall and Room C-100 rehearsal hall, or as space allows. Admission is free.

Singers aged from pre-high school to adult who are students of Association members will compete in “Musical Theater” and/or “Song and Aria” categories in the day-long event. Special programs to educate and entertain will follow each category competition, and the winners for the category will then sing in an honors recital and awards will be presented.

The Musical Theater competition begins at 9 a.m., and features repertoire drawn from musicals, movies, and operettas. It will be followed by a special program (to be announced) and the awards and winners recital from 11 a.m. -12 noon.

The Songs and Arias competition, featuring a repertoire of art song, opera, operetta, or oratorio as appropriate to each division, will take place in the afternoon starting at 1p.m., with the special program, awards and winner’s recital taking place between 3:00-4p.m. Elizabeth Luca, a Speech and Language Pathologist at Tufts NEMC will discuss cultivating and maintaining a healthy speaking voice, and how the speaking voice affects the singing voice, for the afternoon special program.

The Musical Theater category will have four divisions by age: Preparatory Division (pre-high school), age 14-19 attending high school, age 17-22 post-high school, and adult age 23 and older. Participants other than the pre-high school group will each sing two selections: one up-tempo and one ballad in contrasting styles.

The Songs and Arias category will have seven divisions by age and experience: Preparatory Division (Pre-High School), High School (ages 14-19, maximum 2 years voice study), High School (ages 14-19, more than 2 years voice study), Young Adult (ages 17-25, maximum 2 years voice study beyond high school), Young Adult (ages 17-25, more than 2 years voice study beyond high school), Adult (ages 26 and over, any length of study, hobby singer), and Aspiring Professional Adult (ages 26 and over, more than 4 years voice study beyond high school). Some divisions will be judged only for comments and rating, without placements. In this category, the number and type of selections to be sung by each participant varies with the different divisions, but all must include at least one selection in English.

The URI Concert Hall is handicap-accessible, and parking is available in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center, off Bills Road.

For more information, please contact the URI Department of Music, 874-2431, or URI Voice faculty member Margaret Frazier at 874-7033.