Tyler Resident Earns Top Accolades at Collegiate Singing Competition

March 22, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

Nicholas “Nick” Sheffield of Tyler, a senior voice performance major at The University of Texas at Tyler, earned four top awards, including two Singer of the Year honors, at the 2024 National Association of Teachers of Singing-DFW Chapter Conference.

Sheffield placed first in both the musical theater and classical divisions in the advanced male voice category. He also was named the Ann Weeks Singer of the Year, which recognizes the best singer across all contestants in the musical theater division, and the Jennifer Glidden Singer of the Year, which recognizes the overall best singer from the entire NATS-DFW chapter competition.

“What an outstanding accomplishment for Nicholas to be the selected as the overall winner at NATS,” said Dr. Sarah Roberts, interim director of the UT Tyler School of Performing Arts. “He has been an integral member of the School of Performing Arts, and we are very excited for his future after graduation this spring.”

Sheffield is a student of Dr. Sooah Park, associate professor of music. He will graduate with a UT Tyler Bachelor of Music in voice performance in May.

Established in 1944, the National Association of Teachers of Singing promotes excellence in singing through teaching, performance, scholarship and research. NATS offers various learning experiences including workshops, internships, master classes and conferences. For more information, visit nats.org/.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.