Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University sophomore Tori Clark recently was awarded the Hot Springs Music Club Scholarship through recent auditions at First United Methodist Church in Hot Springs.

“I am honored and excited to have been selected as this year’s winner,” said Clark, a choral music education major from Bonnerdale, Ark. “There is a lot of talent in Hot Springs, so it’s a privilege to be recognized.”

Clark was selected by three judges from a field of both singers and instrumentalists, and she will go on to perform at the Hot Springs Music Club concert in May.

Clark auditioned singing “Things Change, Jo” from the opera Little Women by Mark Adamo and “O Del Mio Amato Ben” by Stefano Donaudy. She also wrote an essay on her college career and goals as part of the judging process.

“I have had the pleasure of being Tori’s teacher for two years,” explained Robin Williams, lecturer of music. “Tori is very coachable and really has talent for singing with emotion so that the audience feels what the music is saying.”

Clark is attending Ouachita as a Governor’s Distinguished Scholar, is a two-time regional National Association of Teachers of Singing auditions finalist and also is a composer. She is a member of Ouachita’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota international music fraternity for women and Ouachita Singers and is first chair euphonium player in the Ouachita Wind Ensemble. Clark recently was a featured soloist in the Hot Springs Alumnae SAI February Musicale in Hot Springs and was in Ouachita’s recent production of the opera Die Fledermaus.

The Hot Springs Music Club is a member of the Arkansas and National Federation of Music Clubs. The club seeks to maintain high musical standards while also aiding and encouraging musical education through annual scholarship auditions and other programs.

John Briggs, adjunct instructor of music, was Clark’s piano collaborator for the audition.

For more information, contact Robin Williams at [email protected] or (870) 245-5135.

By Jessica Stewart