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UNCC student takes first place in national singing competition

By Stephanie Maxwell
By Stephanie Maxwell

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — UPDATE: UNCC junior Hunter Aldridge who made it to the finals of the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Competition took home first place in his category.

He won a $1,600 scholarship.

Family Focus: UNCC students prepare for singing competition

Two University of North Carolina at Charlotte students are getting their voices ready for a prestigious national singing competition in July.

It’s a first for the school.

Neither student had his first vocal lesson until they were accepted into UNCC’s voice program.

“I actually went to school for physical therapy,” sophomore Tyrez Dabbs said.

“I was supposed to be a mechanical engineer,” junior Hunter Aldridge said. “That’s what I got accepted out of high school for.”

But their plans changed.

Aldridge said he stumbled onto singing in high school.

“When I actually got hurt in football my sophomore year, it was actually going to be a joke to take choir,” Aldridge said.

Singing is in Dabbs' blood.

“I grew up in a Baptist church, so singing is all in my family. It's what we do,” he said.

Both are following their music dreams, and their powerful voices have made it the semifinals of the National Association of Teachers of Singing national competition.

Assistant Professor Brian Arreola has been getting them ready for the competition since last fall.

“Hunter and Tyrez both sort of have that bone structure -- the wide cheekbones, the broad chest that gives a naturally, really powerful projecting voice,” Arreola said.

But Arreola said their tenor voices are distinct.

For the competition next month, Aldridge and Dabbs are performing three songs, only one in English. They share the same beliefs on how they got this far in the competition.

"It's a God-given talent is the way I look at it,” Aldridge said. “For anyone who sings is the way I look at it.”

“I can't thank anybody but God,” Dabbs said. “It's a humbling experience, because without him this wouldn't be possible.”

The two are competing in separate categories, but they'll each go up against 13 men from across the country to win scholarship money.

Each category started with 700 entries.

MORE:

Tyrez’s audition clips

Hunter’s audition clips

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