2026 Indiana NATS Fall Student Auditions
Auditions: November 7, 2026

The In-Person auditions will be held at: Purdue University Fort Wayne, 2101 E Coliseum Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46805.  

Campus Map

The Fall 2026 NATS Indiana Chapter Student Auditions will soon be upon us! For the 2026-2027 audition season registration format we will be using Auditionware for the Fall auditions.   It will be accessible from National’s website www.nats.org as in previous years.

The National Board is launching new software for registering students for auditions, which some chapters and regions are using.  From our introduction to AuditionNow on 8/22, it appears to be user friendly and straight forward. Currently there are some important tools that are not yet completely functioning or still in beta mode which Indiana uses for scheduling. So, for the Fall auditions we will be using Auditionware with the understanding that in the Spring everyone will be required to use the new software. There are some links within this document that will not take you to the information as National is behind in updating the NSA resource page.  They have been left in this document in hopes that the information will become available soon! The three links below will provide you most of the information. We wanted to get this information to you now and apologize for any inconvenience.

Currently, there are no real changes in the registration process. When you log into www.nats.org, it should take you to your “Member Home” page.  (If not, you can simply click on your email address in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and it will take you to your “Member Home” page.) You can then scroll to the bottom of the “Member Home” page where you will find the button to register for an audition.  Select AuditionWare!  You will simply click on the button, and it will take you directly to (new software), where you will already be logged in and able to register yourself and your students.

 National has implemented some changes in CL/MT/CM.  Please review each one of the links below to become familiar with those changes and review requirements, rubrics and terminology for each of the performance areas.  Commercial Music has the most changes. 

• NSA Classical Auditions Guide (https://canva.link/txbtsz8n1md29ic) ·
• NSA Commercial Music Auditions Guide (https://canva.link/i9ljjxhz5pgu0iy) ·
• NSA Musical Theatre Auditions Guide (https://canva.link/cfp5e7ocnan3r93)

INDIANA NATS 2026 Student Auditions:

For the 2026 Indiana Student Auditions, we will be offering Classical, Music Theatre, Commercial Music, American Negro Spiritual Category and Children and Youth categories.  All categories will be in person at Purdue University Fort Wayne, 2101 E Coliseum Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46802, on November 7, 2026.  Indiana NATS voted in November 2025 to increase the event registration fee to $20.00.   PLEASE REVIEW REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL CATEGORIES!

Registration DATES
Open 09/1/2026
Closes: 10/16/2026

• The file: Indiana NATS categories 2026  lists the categories and allotted performance times at Indiana’s Fall auditions.   NOTE: Most of the repertory requirements have not changed for most categories except CM:
• MT: # of songs– musical theatre selections contrasting by composer, tempo, and text.
• CL: # of songs- selections from classical repertoire contrasting by composer, tempo, and text.
• CM: # of songs- contrasting by composer, tempo, and text performed in a CM style(s)
• For the Children and Youth categories, permission forms must be submitted 14 days prior to the auditions.  Each student under legal age must be accompanied by a chaperone at all live NATS events.
• A parent or legal guardian will have to complete and sign a form appointing a chaperone, who bears all legal, health, and safety liabilities for the minor-aged student. This form will be included in the online registration. According to national guidelines, NATS Teachers cannot serve as a student’s chaperone.

2026-2027 Minor Chaperone Form  (This file is from 2025-2026 as National has not updated the new one.  Once that is done a new link will be sent out. Use this one in the meantime.) 

Category Entry Resource Guidelines (National has not yet updated this link!)

The NATS adjudicator training videos for Children and Youth Categories and Commercial Music Categories are getting very positive reviews. You may wish to review those in preparation for this year’s auditions. Additional training videos for Spiritual and Musical Theatre categories are also available.

Adjudicator Training Videos:

Children and Youth:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krCjmYo-cEk

Commercial Music:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eir_g_jfEx8

Musical Theatre:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaU28J2qfg

Spirituals:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV0THC4xi38

Classical:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbYYT1RNlcs

Should you have any questions or run into any registration issues, please send us an email and we will work through it together (see below).

Indiana’s NATS Student Audition fees and policies:  

• Student Registration fee per event $20.00
• An Accompanist may only play for 10 events.
• Students or teachers must print off and provide Adjudication Sheets to each judge on the day of the auditions. There will be three judges per category.
• All instructors registering students are required to judge on the day of auditions.
• Instructors needing to be excused from judging for extenuating circumstances must pay a $75.00 fee in addition to the $40.00 registration fee, to support the hiring of a replacement judge.

COLLABORATIVE ACCOMPANIST FEES:

• Whenever possible, please provide your own accompanist.  If you require a Collaborative Accompanist, fees are per event:
• $25.00 for 2 songs
• $45.00 for 3 songs
• $60.00 for 4 pieces
• $75.00 for 5 pieces
• If using a Staff Accompanist, instructors must provide readable PDF files of each piece to David Mannell, Auditions Chair (dbmsal@aol.com), due by the close of registration.
• Submitting of files:
• Separate PDF files for each song/aria to dbmsal@aol.com 
•  Label each file-
•  Student Name
• Song Title
•   Category
• Students may register for more than one category (Classical, Musical Theatre, CCM)
• Each registered event is $20.00 per event. Happy registering and let us know if you have any questions!

 

Timeline

September 1-October 16: Registration Open

The AUDITIONWARE registration site will be open to allow TEACHERS to register themselves and their students for the auditions.  The registration site is the same system used in past years.

All teachers sending students are required to judge on the day of the auditions.

Teachers will print 3 copies of each student’s adjudication sheet which the student will present to the judges at the time of their auditions.  This was established by the Indiana NATS Chapter in 2019.

October 16:
Registration closes at 10:00 PM. No changes are permitted after registration is closed unless the repertoire does not meet the requirements.

October 16-25:
Repertoire will be vetted, and the singers will be divided into categories and schedule set.

October 25^th:
Student Performance Schedule available on TBA
(Reminder: Students will provide judges with their Adjudication Sheets on the day of the Auditions)

November 7th: Student Auditions (In-Person)

7:45 AM Annual Chapter Meeting in MC 122 Choral Rehearsal Room 7:45  AM

3:00 PM Recital and Presentation by Dr. John Seesholtz on his organization,
The Canciones Project.

9:00-3:30 Student Auditions

4:15 PM Awards Announcement once results are completed- Time 4:15 PM (Tentative)

For information on repertory requirements, terminology and other resources visit the NSA Resource Center.

NATS National Student Auditions Resource Center (National has not yet updated this page!)

Additional information:
Musical Theatre Resources
Commercial Music Resources
Children & Youth Resources
Category of Entry Resources

Sincerely,
Mary Kathryn Brewer, President, NATS Indiana Chapter (mrbrewer@taylor.edu)
Matthew Giallongo, Host, NATS Indiana Chapter (mgiallon@pfw.edu )
David B Mannell, Auditions Chair, NATS Indiana Chapter (dbmsal@aol.com)
Colleen Davis, Asst. Auditions Chair, NATS Indiana Chapter (colleen.davis@indstate.edu)