Music student Daniel Chiu wins top honors at state-wide competition

Daniel Chiu ’16 (Music – Classical Performance), baritone, won a first place prize at the New York State Music Teachers Association Competition this fall.

Chiu represented SUNY New Paltz in the Young Artist – Voice category. The state-wide contest is an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) competition series, and so with this win Chiu advances to the MTNA’s Northeast Regional competition at Boston University in January.

“This competition, even at State level, showed me very promising performers,” Chiu said in a statement. “As new competitor, it was still clear to me that the rest who’d passed all had the fire of ‘ambition to be the best’ in their eyes. I’m grateful to my teacher, [Associate Professor] Kent Smith of the Music Department at SUNY New Paltz, for coaching me thus far and pushing me to compete. He’s brought my voice a long way from last year and I can’t thank him enough for being here.

“I hope to perform exceptionally in Boston University of early January and go on to Nationals in March. May we have a friendly competition!”

To learn more about the Music Teachers National Association and its competition series, please visit www.mtna.org.