Christianne Rushton, Associate Professor and incoming Director of the School of Music at Acadia University, is one of seven people selected to receive a National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) 2014 Emerging Leaders Award.

This grant program is designed to recognize teachers of singing with no more than 10 years of teaching experience and who are active at the chapter and regional level of NATS. As this association is based in the United States, winners received a $750 grant to assist with their attendance at the 53^rd National Conference in Boston this summer. Dr. Rushton also became the Eastern Canadian NATS President in July 2014.

Rushton is the only international recipient of this award. An Acadia alumna, Christianne (’98) and her husband, Michael Caines (’96), both currently teach in the School of Music.