The exciting experience of chapter NATS Student Auditions, where singers perform and receive written feedback, is now an annual regional and national competition with  total prizes of over $80,000 at the national level!

Northwestern Region Timeline 2025-2026
September 2025 - Chapters & Region Auditions Chairs Meeting with NW Regional NSA Coordinator.
October 1, 2025-February 1, 2026 - NW Chapters' rounds of NSA (live or online).
                Alaska Chapter: MT-October 18, CM-January 24, CL-February 14
                Puget Sound Chapter: All-December
                Tahoma Chapter: All-November 22
                Cascade Chapter: CL & CM-November 15-16, MT-January 24-25
February 1, 2026​ - Regional registration opens for Chapters' finalists to send in their application & video submissions to the Regional round. (Regional round student participation fee is $20).
February 19, 2026 - Deadline for application & video submissions to the Regional round.
February 21 & 22, 2026 - Vetting of all submissions
February 28 - March 13, 2026 - Regional adjudications. (All teachers submitting students must be available to help with adjudications).
Mid-March - Tallying of results, announcement of Regional winners and submission of  Top5 eligible in each category to the National rounds of NSA.
End of March - Eligible participants will receive the invite from National to apply to the National rounds.
April 10, 2026 - Deadline for all eligible participants to submit their documents to the National round.
Mid-May - Announcement of National semifinalists.
July 3-7, 2026 - National live semifinals and finals held at the NATS 59th National Conference in San Antonio, Texas.


​Northwestern Region NSA Contacts
For general inquiries relating to the competition, please check www.nats.org.
For questions regarding the Region NSA, please contact one of our three Classical Chair, Musical Theatre Chair or Contemporary Music Chair, or our Region NSA Coordinator, Beverly Park, 

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NSA at a glance - How it works
​NATS Student Auditions begin with a preliminary round, in which students sing for a panel of adjudicators and perhaps a small audience. Preliminary auditions advance to quarterfinals then semifinals as needed. All National Student Auditions culminate in Finals. Finalists audition again, often for a larger public audience of everyone present. Many chapters and regions offer prizes for to students placing in their categories as well as additional awards.
  • Chapter Auditions
    • In some regions, chapter auditions are standalone events that do not advance to the region or national levels. Other regions hold progressive auditions in which students must begin at the chapter level and only the top students in each eligible category advance to region auditions.
  • Region Auditions
    • To participate in the national level of these auditions, students of NATS members must qualify by entering only ONE region's NSA and placing in their region's auditions. The top 5 singers from each region's NSA-eligible categories advance to the national online preliminaries.
  • National Preliminary Auditions
    • Each singer who advances from a region audition must apply and submit videos of their performances for adjudication by a panel of international judges in the national preliminaries.
  • National Semifinals and Finals
    • 15 singers from each of 34 categories plus the Hall Johnson Spirituals Competition during conference years and the 3 American Negro Spirituals Categories in non-conference years — ALL advance to the national semifinals.
    • The top 3 singers in each national semifinal category audition in the national finals. 
    • The NSA national semifinals and finals are typically held in late June or early July in conjunction with either a NATS biennial national conference or summer workshop.

  • National NSA Entry Fee: $75 per category (nonrefundable)
  • Prizes: Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will total more than $84,000.
  • Competition Dates: Online national screening begins the second Friday in April, with the national semifinals and finals in June or July.
  • Deadline to Enter: April 10, 2026 (Entry is by emailed invitation-only, following regional auditions)​
Helpful NSA Links
Reach out to YOUR Chapter for help!