Nate Cole ’27 is a center on the Wofford football team with center-stage talent.
Cole placed second nationally at the National Association of Teachers of Singing auditions held at Temple University in June. He was one of only 15 students to reach the semifinals in his category (classical; lower division; tenor, baritone and bass).
Cole, a humanities major and music minor from Columbia, South Carolina, learned about the competition through Dr. Aaron Harp, assistant professor of music and chairman of the department, with whom he has taken lessons since the spring of his first year at Wofford.
“He was very encouraging of me to pursue it,” Cole says. “We thought it was a situation where I’d have a pretty good chance of doing well.”
Cole and Harp drew from pieces Cole had sung at Wofford as part of its choral ensembles to select his three audition songs: “But Who May Abide?” from Handel’s “Messiah,” “Le Charme” by Ernest Chausson and "Come My Way, My Truth, My Life" by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Auditions at the state and mid-Atlantic regional levels were held virtually. Cole recorded his submissions in Leonard Auditorium and received feedback from judges as he advanced through to the national level. At Temple, he performed to a quiet room of three judges, Harp and his accompanist.
“I think I handled the nerves pretty well compared to what I thought might happen,” Cole says. “Other times when I’ve gotten on stage, my legs will start shaking. I’ll sing fine, but physically it will show. This time, I think after the first piece that I sung, I settled down a little bit and got comfortable with what was happening.”
Cole has sung since he was 4 or 5 years old. He was raised by parents with a background in opera; his father is the music director at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia. But it wasn’t until his senior year of high school, when he performed as the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast” while balancing wrestling obligations, that he really began to take an interest in performance.
Now Cole performs with Wofford’s choral groups, takes private vocal lessons and plays multiple string instruments, including the violin and the banjo. He also plays Saturdays in the fall for the Terriers. Cole, who was an All-State first team member at Ben Lippen School, says he originally decided to come to Wofford for football and learned about the music program during his tour.
“This is a huge accomplishment for Nate, and our whole team is proud of him,” says Corey Woods, offensive line coach for Wofford’s football team. “He is a guy who works hard every day to improve in everything he does, so coming in second in this national competition was not a surprise for us. We are excited for him to and hope he brings that winning momentum to the practice field as camp begins.”
“He’s a very dedicated student and self-motivated,” Harp says. “He works hard, and he’s able to weigh football – early mornings, workouts and that busy schedule – with music really well. He’s a very talented kid.”
Conversations with graduate programs at the national auditions opened Cole’s mind to the possibility of music as a career. Currently he is on the pre-law track and spent this summer interning with Holcombe Bomar, a law firm in Spartanburg.
While he considers his post-graduation possibilities, Cole says he plans to compete in NATS every semester of college – and win.
“I’m not a big fan of coming in second,” Cole says. “I’m still extremely happy that I placed, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to do this, but it also makes me think of things I can do to improve and come in first in the future.”