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As of February, Kiara Kiah<\/strong> is the first student from Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in over 20 years to audition in the Virginia National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition, a fierce contest between the state\u2019s finest college-age singers. And the soprano vocalist will compete virtually in regionals next week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\u201cIt was a really good experience,\u201d Kiah said. \u201cIt was just really good to be back in the competition realm and get feedback and hear things from an outsider\u2019s point of view on things that I can work on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tKiah performed four pieces in three different languages ranging in style from musical theater to stormundrang, and earned an \u201chonors\u201d distinction among some 500 competitors, allowing her to advance to the regional level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you’ve heard Kiara sing, you recognize she’s uniquely gifted and brimming with raw talent. Her various music successes will come as no surprise,\u201d Professor James Richardson<\/strong> said. \u201cKiara has a large and powerful, resonant, yet lyrical and versatile, soprano voice with a mature timbre for her age.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n NATS requires more than just raw talent of a performer, though. The competitors must demonstrate intense vocal stamina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s one thing to be a fine singer, and it’s another to do it with polish when the pressure is on \u2013 making it all seem \u2018easy\u2019 and \u2018natural\u2019,” said Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tKiah has been to these auditions before, when she competed at the high school level of NATS while a student at the Governor\u2019s School for the Arts in Norfolk. And she earned advancement to the regional Mid-Atlantic competition several times while there, but didn\u2019t have the confidence to actually go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\u201cIt gets ten times more competitive. Now you\u2019re competing with a bigger range of voices and people and regions,\u201d Kiah explained. But this year, \u201cJames, my voice teacher here, was like, \u2018no, you\u2019re going!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThese competitions \u201care truly considered the<\/em> <\/em><\/strong>gold standard of trained singing,\u201d Richardson explained. \u201cSuccess at the state level and beyond \u2013 such as that of Kiara’s \u2013 speaks volumes to anyone who knows anything about opera, art songs, and music theater.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThis push and pull, whether or not to pursue the opportunities her talent brings, has been a pattern for Kiah since the beginning of her musical career. In middle school, she had a negative experience in choir. But Kiah\u2019s aunt, who adopted her, saw her potential \u2013 and took the rising ninth grader to audition for the Governor\u2019s School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\u201cOriginally, I was like, I don\u2019t care for opera. Who sings this? And so I went to the audition and purposefully bombed it. I just did not want to go,\u201d Kiah said. But her attempts to obscure her abilities failed \u2013 the school accepted Kiah, and she began rigorous school days that began at 7 a.m. and often ended at 10 p.m. after rehearsals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tWhile there, she saw an opera for the first time \u2013 The Magic Flute <\/em>by Mozart, and was hooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\u201cI just fell in love with it. The strength, and the stamina it takes to sing for two and a half, three hour shows, I was just amazed when I saw my first opera. \u2026 I want to learn how to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tAfter high school, Kiah was accepted into a number of conservatories, including the prestigious Julliard. She chose to attend EMU for music education. Kiah still wants to work with kids, and will graduate in December with a degree in vocal performance and social work. If a double major and singing competitions weren\u2019t enough, Kiah is also involved in the community \u2013 serving on the Black Student Alliance and Destiny\u2019s Daughters organization for young women\u2019s empowerment, volunteering with Bethel AME Church, and working part-time at the Hallmark store and EMU\u2019s fitness center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n