Wilmington teen hits the right notes at national singing competition

Chase Barnette hates to lose.

Whether it’s on the basketball court, in a state track and field meet, or at a national singing competition, the recent Coastal Christian High School graduate wants to come out on top.

“I hate losing more than I like winning,” Barnette explained.

So, when the 18-year-old placed third in the National Association of Teachers of Singing state competition in Charlotte earlier this year, he immediately began thinking about his next performance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition at Furman University.

The following week, Barnette showed up to his voice lesson ready to work. Sara Westermark, his voice teacher, said he put in the work to improve and give the best performance possible at the regional competition.

That work paid off.

“We ended up blowing everybody out of the water at regionals,” Barnette said of his first-place finish.

That performance earned him an invitation to the National Association of Teachers of Singing’s national competition in Knoxville, Tennessee — an amazing achievement for someone who had only been studying vocal performance for eight months.

“Most of my students start studying in elementary school to get to this level,” Westermark said.

Barnette’s been singing since he was about 4 years old, but music wasn’t his only focus. His parents – both music majors themselves – saw his raw talent and encouraged it by having him participate in the Wilmington Boys Choir when he was just 7 years old. After that, he continued to participate in school and community choirs, and while he was interested in music, he was also active with other endeavors.

Barnette earned the rank of Eagle Scout, played on the varsity basketball team at Coastal Christian High School, and was a member of the school’s track team where he helped bring home a state title for the 4x200 meter relay.

While Barnette was successful as an athlete and enjoyed scouting, he made a decision that changed his focus a bit. Thanks to encouragement from his music teacher at Coastal Christian Academy, Amy Tucker Morgan, he connected with Westermark and began his formal study of classical singing in August 2023.

“I was eager to take him on,” Westermark said.

Westermark said aside from raw talent, part of what helped Barnette excel was his joy for life and his dedication to improving his craft.

Barnette was one of 15 selected from a pool of 1,000 men to advance to the national level of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition where he took third place in the classical singing division. While he admits it wasn’t the finish he had hoped for, he’s already thinking about how he can improve.

“You can either feel sorry for yourself and be like, ‘Woe is me. I’ll never be successful.’ Or you can keep trying,” Barnette said.

This fall, Barnette will ‘keep trying’ and continue his study of voice at East Carolina University on a full music scholarship.

“The dream is to be a musician in some capacity, whether that be recording artist, whether that be doing stuff with opera — whatever opens up for me job-wise,” Barnette said.

Want to share a tip about an inspiring story in the Wilmington area? Email Renee Spencer, community engagement editor at the StarNews, at RSpencer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington teen hits the right notes at national singing competition