Sue's Muse: An Interview with Allen Henderson and Alisa Belflower of NATS -

Who are Allen Henderson and Alisa Belflower and what is NATS? Well, if you Google “Music Angels” their pictures should show up. These are two of the best music educators I have had the pleasure of working with. Allen is the Executive Director of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) and Alisa is the Regional Governor of the NMTC (NATS Musical Theater Competition). Both are singers, soloists, vocal and diction coaches and both have backgrounds in opera and musical theater as performers and educators. I am on a committee that is producing the 2026 NMTC (January 5th – see link below) with these two amazing people. I’d like you all to get to know them a bit better and certainly to introduce NATS to all my vocal teachers out there watching this interview. Please meet Allen Henderson and Alisa Belflower…

NOTE: This particular video interview is a bit choppy due to the fact that we were all experiencing connection glitches as we tried to chat. Bear with us as the content is still there.

Read about Allen here

Read about Alisa here

Learn more about NATS and about the Competition.

Check out previous winners who went on to appear on Broadway (many of whom are still on the boards today).

Please come to see the competition (ticket link here) because you may want to join NATS and then sponsor some of your students in the many wonderful future competitions that NATS offers. This year the legendary vocal coach to the STARS, Joan Lader, will be honored. There are 5 winners with the first prize package valued at $10,000 plus meetings all kinds of additional bonus gifts!

Monday, January 5, 2026
VIP Pre-Curtain Reception at 6:30 p.m. ET
Finals Competition at 7:30 p.m. ET
Neidorff-Karpati Hall, Manhattan School of Music
130 Claremont Ave, New York, NY 10027

To my cabaret followers: this is the organization that offered the Master Class with Broadway’s Adam Guettel where I was able to submit two extraordinary singing talents from our community: Ethan Mathias and Katryna Marttala. Ethan went on to win both the Classical and Musical Theater categories in the NATS NY Chapter’s recent music competition, and Katryna is one of 24 finalist (out of over 200 entries) in the NMTC competition in January. This organization offers a wealth of opportunities to all educators and their talented students and is worth checking out!

About Sue Matsuki 75 Articles

SUE MATSUKI is an award-winning singer and songwriter, producer, open mic host, educator, columnist and the author of So You Want to Sing Cabaret. She is a Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Collaboration with her Musical Director, Gregory Toroian; she is the very first recipient of the Julie Wilson Award given by the Mabel Mercer Foundation; and she is a multi-award-winning MAC Award winner (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) for Jazz Vocalist, Special Events, and Songwriter and has been nominated 11 times in 8 different categories. Matsuki is a Cabaret/Jazz singing veteran who has played every NYC Cabaret room including: Feinstein’s at the Regency, 54 Below, Town Hall, and several major Jazz Clubs including: the legendary Village Gate, Birdland, The Iridium and Sweet Rhythm. She’s even played Carnegie Hall and appeared in five seasons as a Diva Double at the Metropolitan Opera. She plays many theaters across the country and has appeared at Crazy Coqs in London. As an educator she has taught Cabaret and performance/business classes at: Mac-to-School, Cabaret Hotspot! Cabaret U, The Ridgefield Theater Barn, Peddie Town School (Town Heights, NJ), UCONN’s Osher’s Lifelong Learning Institute, the Vancouver School of Performing Arts and at Fordham University at Lincoln Center. Matsuki is the Producer of the annual Urban Stages’ Winter Rhythms series, NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singers) NMTC National Musical Theater Competition as well as many other benefits and shows. Sue’s Views has been an on-going Cabaret advice column that has appeared in Cabaret Hotline On-Line, NiteLife Exchange and Cabaret Hotspot, It now lives on her website. Sue’s Muse comes back to the NiteLife Exchange family in May. For more information please visit: www.SueMatsuki.com