Laseter wins vocal contest with Carter arrangement

A senior at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts wowed judges with an arrangement of "Steal Away" by UTC professor Roland Carter to win the prestigious Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition.

Mark Laseter, son of Jeff and Susan Laseter, beat more than 30 competitors from Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee, who gathered recently at Nashville's Belmont University for the competition.

"The piece was commissioned by the Negro Spiritual Foundation in Orlando about 13 years ago," said Mr. Carter, UTC's Holmberg Professor of American Music. "Each year they commission a piece, and mine was the first commission."

Mr. Carter said the piece "shows off the voice. I think it's my favorite of my solo arrangements."

Mark, 17, has been a member of the Chattanooga Boys Choir for six years. He also studies voice with Vincent Oakes, CBC director. A talented pianist as well, he accompanies several of the CBC training choirs. The teen is in Greeneville, Tenn., today accompanying the All-East Honors Choir.

"It has been very gratifying to see Mark grow as a singer and as a musician during his time in the Boys Choir," Mr. Oakes said.

"He carries the perfect balance of talent, determination, hard work and humility to constantly improve himself in all aspects of his musicianship. He has many natural gifts, but he also takes instruction and critique every well."

Singers arrive at the Schmidt competition with three prepared pieces. Mark's were "Du bist die Ruh," by Franz Schubert; "Fair House of Joy," by Roger Quilter; and Mr. Carter's spiritual.

Each student chooses his opening song and then the judges choose one from the remaining prepared pieces. After all competitors have auditioned, 10 finalists are selected, who return to present two pieces before the winner is named.

" I think the most impressive thing about Mark is that he is able to quickly move beyond the notes and rhythms to deliver an overall more masterful musical presentation, conveying the mood and meaning of each text with smart decisions regarding tone color, diction and expression," said Mr. Oakes of his student's stage presence.

As the first-place winner, Mark won a $2,000 scholarship. He plans to study vocal performance at either Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia or the New England Conservatory in Boston.

This is not the singer's first noteworthy award. He won the 2009 Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Youth Vocal Competition and has been selected for All-East and All-State choirs.

He owns the distinction of holding the Tenor 1 Scholarship for having the highest tenor vocal score in East Tennessee, as scored by judges in state competition auditions.

At CCA, he is a member of the high school's choir and jazz ensembles and he plays piano for the Women's Ensemble, middle school chorus and middle school ballet class.