Lander University senior mass communications major Chaz Giles recently advanced through the state, regional and video rounds of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Student Auditions, competing in the semifinal round in Las Vegas, Nev.
Lander University Associate Professor of Music Dr. Lila Noonkester said that Giles "sang well and received very good written comments from the three judges in his category."
Noonkester called Giles's accomplishment significant. "Chaz is considered to be one of the top 14 male musical theatre singers nationally in his age group," she said.
Giles, a music minor, sang the same repertoire that he performed in earlier rounds of the competition: "Hero and Leander," from Myths and Hymns, by Adam Guettel; "Lost in the Wilderness," from Children of Eden, by Stephen Schwartz; "Something's Coming," from West Side Story, by Leonard Bernstein; and "On the Street Where You Live," from My Fair Lady, by Frederick Loewe.
Noonkester said that Giles "has a naturally beautiful instrument which moves easily into the uppermost range of the tenor voice. His dramatic delivery is relaxed, honest, and expressive. Above all, he is a performer who has the ability to captivate audiences."
Giles has also distinguished himself as an actor and filmmaker, appearing in several recent Greenwood Community Theatre productions, such as Beauty and the Beast; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Godspell; and Into the Woods.
This spring, he won a Best Director Award for his entry in the Ninth Annual Lander Film Festival, "Amore Mio Per La Cena (My Love for Dinner)," which also won the Writer's Choice Award.