WT Students Advance to National Finals in Opera Competition

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Three West Texas A&M University music students will compete over the holiday break in a national opera competition named for one of their professors.

Taking part in the National Opera Association’s Robert Hansen Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition on Jan. 4 in Phoenix will be Brooklynn King, a senior music major from Pearland; Erin Hinds, a senior music major from Amarillo; and Sarah Estes, a junior music major from Turpin, Oklahoma.

They will perform “Hatbox Trio” from the opera “Postcard from Morocco,” staged in November 2022 by WT Opera.

“It’s really, really exciting,” Hinds said. “Sarah Beckham-Turner (WT’s assistant professor of voice and WT Opera director) submitted us, and we’re happy that we advanced to the finals. It’s nice to know that all our hard work on ‘Postcard’ paid off.”

The contest, which was founded in 2009, was named for Hansen in honor of his 25 years of service as NOA’s executive director.

Hansen, WT’s Regents Professor of Music, stepped down as director of WT’s School of Music this summer and officially will retire from the University following the 2023-24 academic year.

“It’s really cool that this contest is named for Dr. Hansen,” Hinds said. “He is such a dedicated teacher—exactly what you should look for in a teacher.”

Only four finalists are selected in the competition’s three divisions, Beckham-Turner said.

“Win or lose at the conference, we are in the top four in our division, and that shows the quality of work here at WT Opera,” Beckham-Turner said. “I am so proud of my students and their dedication to greatness.”

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: WT Opera students Sarah Estes, from left, Erin Hinds and Brooklynn King will compete Jan. 4 in the National Opera Association’s Robert Hansen Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition in Arizona, named for the retiring WT professor of music.

—WT—