On March 5 Yuba College music students competed against one another in the Tri Counties Music Scholarship competition. Of those singing were Yuba College students Wendolyn Cooper, Timothy Martin, David Norton, Rachael White and KJ Pereira.
They sang arias and art songs, written by composers such as Handel and Mozart, in Italian, German, Latin, as well as English.
The competition showed off some of the best voice students on our campus. The Tri Counties competition was a good preview of what was heard at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) scholarship competition, held April 13 in Stockton at the University of Pacific campus.
Many other Yuba College students joined those who participated in the Tri Counties competition, such as Eliza Skeffington, who won the previous year at Tri Counties, Michaelah Schnepel and Jay Wylie. At NATS, Schnepel placed third, Pereira placed second and Wylie placed first in all their divisions, allowing them to sing at the finals. Wylie placed third overall at the competition. These students are involved in many voice classes, particularly Applied Voice, a class for those students who have completed both beginning and intermediate voice studies. The students are in both chamber and the community symphony choirs.
Most of these students are music majors and will be transferring to four-year universities, such as San Jose State, Stanslaus State, Cal Poly and Fullerton, in the fall.
Several of the music students have applied for and have been awarded scholarships. For example, Cooper who took first place at Tri Counties received a $150 scholarship and will be continuing her studies at Yuba College in the fall.
White received $100 for taking second place. She will be attending Fullerton in the fall on a partial scholarship to study music.
Many of the music students on campus have sung for several years with Joaquina Johnson, a music instructor for 25 years at Yuba College, who also teaches privately and directs the community’s Children’s Choir. Rachel Vebblen started singing in the Children’s Choir along with Cooper when she was seven years old.
Cooper has been singing at Yuba College for three semesters but has worked with Johnson since she was 11 years old. The arias and art songs she sang at Tri Counties were “Laschia Chio Piange” by Handel, “Ridente Le Calma” by Mozart, “Auch Kline Dinge” by Wolf and “When I Have Sung My Songs” by Earnest Charles.
Students in Applied Voice, such as Skeffington, Pereira and Wylie, began their training in high school.Some students who are not music majors are also taking a voice class. They too began training at a young age.
There are many opportunities for someone who likes to sing to get involved with music on campus. Those interested may wish to enroll next semester in Beginning Voice or Symphony Chorus.
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