Photo: Blake Overman performs his solo, Papageno’s aria from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, during a fall choral concert at Bethel College. Overman had first- and second-place finishes in back-to-back competitions in the week before the concert. (Photo by Vada Snider)

Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., freshman Blake Overman is already making waves in local and regional vocal competition.

Overman, in his first semester studying with Soyoun Chun, Bethel assistant professor of music and instructor of voice, took first place in his division Oct. 24 at the Tabor College Vocal Festival and Competition in Hillsboro, Kan.

Overman was the top singer among college freshman and sophomore men.

A week later, Overman was one of two Bethel student vocalists to make the annual trip to the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) West Central Region conference and student auditions.

The event was held this year at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Oct. 30-31.

Overman placed 2nd in the Lower College/First Year Men Classical division, competing against singers from both small private colleges and large state universities in a region covering Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.

Overman is a member of the Bethel College Concert Choir.

NATS was founded in 1944 and is the largest association of teachers of singing in the world. NATS has more than 6,500 members in the United States, Canada and more than 25 other countries.

The NATS mission is “to encourage the highest standards of the vocal art and of ethical principles in the teaching of singing, and to promote vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented.”