Four Hope College singers and three area high school students who study voice at Hope earned honors during the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Michigan State Chapter Auditions, held at Calvin College in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The Hope students earned one first-place award and three second-place awards, and the high school student earned first-, second- and third-place awards.  A total of 187 students from colleges and universities and high schools from throughout the state competed in a variety of categories.

Emilie Bickel, a senior from Denver, Colorado, placed first in the College Women Musical Theatre category.

Rosemary Walsh, a senior from Evanston, Illinois, placed second in the College Senior Women category.

Sophomores Kierney Johnson of Edmonds, Washington, and Macauley Wieland of Bristol, Indiana, tied for second in the College Sophomore Women category.

Silas Fennema, a sophomore at Holland Christian High School, placed first in the High School Musical Theatre category.

Anna Prins, a sophomore at Holland Christian High School, placed second in the category for High School Women 16 and Under.

Kathryn Jaeger, a junior at Grand Haven High School, placed third in the category for High School Women 16 and Under.

Emilie Bickel is a student of JungWoo Kim, assistant professor of music at the college.  All of the other students study with Linda LeFever Dykstra, who is an associate professor of music and chair of the voice division at Hope.

The auditions provided cash prizes and the opportunity for first-, second- and third-place honorees will have the opportunity to compete in the Great Lakes Regional Auditions in London, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, Feb. 27, with other student winners from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, Canada.