Heather Denham, a music major who graduated in May, won the women’s voice division at the Music Teachers National Associ- ation (MTNA) Collegiate Artists Competition in Los Angeles in March. She competed against four finalists, only two of them undergraduate students. She is the first student from Mississippi to be named Collegiate Artist in Voice.

“Heather is an exceptional musician,” says Cheryl Coker, her voice teacher at Millsaps, who accompanied her to the competition. “She’s extremely talented, and she has such a positive attitude about singing.”

For the competition, Denham prepared a repertoire with selections in four languages, representing opera, oratorio literature, and art songs. She sang for 40 minutes.

That evening, Heather learned that she had been chosen Collegiate Artist in Voice.

“I was really astonished, but very pleased to win,” she says.

She began studying music at age seven, first performing on the piano, trumpet, and organ. In tenth grade she started singing in the choir for a change of pace and continue her focus on voice in the music program at Millsaps.

“I always enjoyed singing in concerts and musicals, but what finally made me serious about pursuing a career in music was my summer in Aspen,” she says. Last year, she received a Jonathon Sweat Music Scholarship to study voice at the Aspen Summer Music Camp in Colorado. “I realized that I could stand the pressure, that I could perform on the same level as these professional musicians.”

She also credits the faculty at Millsaps, and particularly the Cokers, for her success in music. “The faculty here is top-notch. They have really made a difference in my life and my development as a musician.”

Denham will begin graduate study in music at Loyola Univer- sity in New Orleans in the fall. A native of Jackson, she is the daughter of John Denham of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Karen Denham of Tupelo.

Millsaps Magazine  |  Millsaps | Last Edited August 12, 1999