usd 497 talent show participant list master of ceremonies
TRANSCRIPT
Ovation! USD 497 Talent Show
January 20, 2019, 7:00 pm
Participant List
Master of Ceremonies: Brian Hanni, Voice of the Jayhawks
Talent Show participants, in alphabetical order:
The Arsonists, rock band
• Sadie Capps (bass)
• Jaxon Ray (keys) – Lawrence High School – 10th grade
• Aden Smith (drums) – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Giovanni Ventello (guitar/vocals) – Lawrence High School – 10th grade
• Vega West (vocals/rhythm guitar)
The Arsonists comprise five young and talented musicians from Lawrence, Kansas. The group plays powerful, energetic rock music with meaningful lyrics about everything from young love to gun violence in the United States.
Dance Hues Studio – Rose & Sunflower STAMPP Company
• Taylor Anderson – Liberty Memorial Central Middle School – 7th grade
• Belle Burghart – Hayden Catholic High School – 9th grade
• Daisiana Douglas – West Middle School – 6th grade
• Josi Gill – Deerfield Elementary School – 4th grade
• Jersey Glover – Tonganoxie Middle School – 6th grade
• Raeley Masters – Lawrence High School – 10th grade
• Jocelynn Miller – West Middle School – 6th grade
• Wrenn Paden – Lawrence High School – 10th grade
• Kira Shepard – St John’s Catholic School – 6th grade
• Justyss Smith – Kennedy Elementary School – 5th grade
The D.A.I.S.Y. Studios Inc. DBA Dance Hues Studio is a 501(c)(3) organization providing arts education regardless of financial status, religion, race, ethnicity, gender identity, IQ level, etc. Dance Hues Studio is committed to creating a dance environment and community that is encouraging and supportive, while emphasizing self‐expression, team bonding and relationship building. The STAMPP Company within the studio is for youth dancers, ages 5‐17, looking for a competitive outlet in dance, with different groups/companies within based on age and skill level. The team name, STAMPP, stems from the team slogan: Shine Through Adversity Move Past Prejudice. The expectations and requirements of the team help enhance technique, discipline and responsibility. Performing tonight are the Rose and Sunflower companies, which are the most advanced of the levels, ages 10+.
Sarah Edmonds, vocals/piano
• Free State High School – 9th grade
Sarah Edmonds is a freshman at Free State High School. She
participates in the Free State freshman choir and is on the
tennis team. She comes from a musical family and has been
singing and playing the piano for as long as she can remember.
She also played the cello at Southwest Middle School and was
a member of the Bel Canto Choir, where she performed a solo
at the end of the year variety show. She also plays the ukulele
for fun. Sarah and her father will be performing a duet at the
Theatre Lawrence's Dueling D’s Fundraiser in February. Sarah
hopes to pursue music in college.
The Free State Performance Ensemble
• Tate Alexander – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Sanders Barbee – Lawrence High School – 12th grade
• Benjamin Boyack – Free State High School – 9th grade
• Bowen Boyack – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Jason Brown – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Ryan Claycamp – Lawrence High School – 11th grade
• Jake Collins – Free State High School – 9th grade
• Morgan Crabtree – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Trent Ediger – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Gwendolyn Elo – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Sommer Fahy – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Hannah Harris – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Keaton Hoy – Lawrence High School – 11th grade
• Nina Jaramillo – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Jamie King – Free State High School – 9th grade
• Kansas Lees – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Gabriel Leverette – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Ashlyn Merrill – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Nirali Patel – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Matthew Reimer – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Genevieve Roberts – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Ethan Rogers – Free State High School – 10th grade
• Camden Ruckman – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Katerina Vallejo‐Cooper – Free State High School – 11th grade
• JoJo Velasco – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Elliott Whisenant, conductor – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Ellie White – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Isaac White – Free State High School – 11th grade
Founded in August of 2017, the Free State Performance Ensemble is a group of students from Free State High School and Lawrence High School. The student‐led concert band meets Wednesday mornings at Free State to rehearse advanced literature for special
performances and is independent from high school bands. The ensemble has students from both high schools and all four grade levels. Many students are members of NE‐KMEA district honor ensembles and KMEA all‐state honor ensembles, and students routinely perform solos or in small ensembles for regional and state festivals. The ensemble is excited to perform in the 2019 Ovation! Talent Show.
Rita Joseph, piano
• Free State High School – 9th grade
Rita Joseph, 15, is a freshman at Free State High
School and studies with Dr. Scott McBride Smith.
She began playing piano at the age of four. Over
the years, she has placed first and second at the
Kansas Music Teacher’s Association State Honors
Audition, she was the winner of the Sigma Alpha
Iota piano competition and of the Ovation Young
Artists Piano Competition, and received an
Honorable Mention in the MTNA Junior Piano
Competition for the state of Kansas. Most
recently, she was a finalist in the Midwest
Chamber Ensemble Youth Concerto Competition,
and was the winner of the KMTA Piano
Competition for the state of Kansas. Rita has been
greatly influenced by her brother and sister
through their love of music. In addition to her interest in music, Rita plays chess
competitively. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, debate and playing tennis.
Lawrence Ballet Theatre
• Samantha Dunham – Veritas – 11th grade
• Emerson Easley – Lawrence High School – 11th grade
• Giouse Ferrara – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Emma Krause – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Elizabeth Lollar – Free State High School – 11th grade
• Azucena Melchor – Lawrence High School – 12th grade
• Henry Morland – Free State High School – 12th grade
• Callia Peterson – Lawrence High School – 10th grade
• Catharine Richards – Bishop Seabury – 10th grade
• Maya Sabatini – Free State High School – 10th grade
Founded in 2010, Lawrence Ballet
Theatre (LBT) was created to meet the
needs of the advanced students in the
Lawrence Arts Center School of Dance.
Headed by Artistic Director Cynthia
Crews, the mission of Lawrence Ballet
Theatre is to provide extensive
training, performance opportunities
and artistic experience to dancers who
wish to continue their dance careers at
a collegiate or professional level.
Participation in the company helps prepare students by giving them the opportunity
to learn classical and original choreography from prestigious dance professionals in a
setting appropriate for the advanced student. LBT presents a full‐length Spring
concert each year, and LBT dancers are featured performers in The Nutcracker: A
Kansas Ballet and a multitude of other productions at the Lawrence Arts Center. LBT
has proudly been a member of Regional Dance America/MidStates since 2011.
Matthew Liu, piano
• Southwest Middle School – 6th grade
Matthew was born in Lawrence, Kansas in 2007. He
began studying piano at age five and is currently a
student of Professor Jack Winerock at the University
of Kansas. Best known for his energetic play and
musical interpretation, Matthew has won top prizes
in many international piano competitions, including
International Keyboard Odyssiad Festival in Fort
Collins, International Young Artist Piano Competition
in Washington DC, Carmel Klavier International Piano
Competition in Indiana, Kaufman International Youth
Piano Competition in New York City, and Los Angeles
Young Musicians International Competition. He was
also the state winner of the 2014 Math Kangaroo in USA competition, and won the
Spelling Bee contest at Quail Run Elementary in 2018. Besides piano, Matthew enjoys
soccer, tennis, reading and spending time with friends and family.
Camilla Lynch, vocals/guitar
• Lawrence High School – 9th grade
Camilla has enjoyed singing and songwriting for as long
as she can remember. She would love to be a
professional musician, but she also has ambitions of
being an astrophysicist. In addition to her passion for
music, she loves hanging out with friends and traveling,
and she is excited to graduate high school and see the
world.
Sam Mandigo, electric guitar
• Lawrence High School – 10th grade
Sam has been playing guitar for 10 years as
well as percussion for 5 years. His other
interests include exercise and nutrition,
soccer and running. He has lived in Lawrence
all his life and previously attended Langston
Hughes Elementary School and Southwest
Middle School. In his free time, he enjoys
playing sports, practicing guitar and drums,
playing video games and hanging out with
friends. Possible future career choices
include a nutritionist, veterinarian, marine
biologist or an athletic trainer.
The Native American Student Services Powwow Dancers
• Lucas Antoine – Liberty Memorial Central Middle School – 6th grade
• Sara Bointy – Billy Mills Middle School – 7th grade
• Shelby Bointy – Lawrence High School – 9th grade
• Evelyn Gurske – Free State High School – 9th grade
• Amaya Harris – Lawrence High School – 10th grade
• Payton Roberts – Schwegler Elementary School – 5th grade
The Native American Student Services
dancers reside in Lawrence, Kansas and
comprise members of different Indigenous
Nations across the United States. Within this
group, over 11 federally recognized tribes
are represented, including the Kiowa Tribe
of Oklahoma, the Comanche Nation of
Oklahoma, the Fort Peck Assiniboine and
Sioux Tribes of Montana, the Rosebud Sioux
Tribe of South Dakota, the Cheyenne River
Sioux of South Dakota, the Winnebago Tribe
of Nebraska, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the
Little Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa Indians, and the Kiowa‐Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
Most of the members in the group have been dancing since they could walk. The
dancers all attend different middle schools and high schools and enjoy a variety of
activities outside of dancing at powwows. They enjoy playing basketball, softball and
volleyball, running track as well as creating works of art with paint or computer
graphics. Included in the group are state champion track runners, champion powwow
dancers and honor students.
Southwest Music Theatre Mondays
• Cella Allison – 7th grade
• Dawson Bonnell – 7th grade
• Braedyn Clover – 8th grade
• Yael Gillath – 7th grade
• Emma Hefty – 8th grade
• Landon Hefty – 6th grade
• Bryndal Hoover – 6th grade
• Annabel Hoppe – 8th grade
• Ivori Jones – 7th grade
• Wendo Kimori – 8th grade
• Zoe King – 7th grade
• Anna Kober – 8th grade
• Contessa Ordiway – 8th grade
• Seb Ortiz – 7th grade
• Maliyah Perdue‐Brown – 6th grade
• Sophia Racy – 7th grade
• Chase Stone – 6th grade
• Ryan Whittlesey – 7th grade
Music Theatre Mondays is a lunch club at Southwest Middle School. It was started a
couple of years ago because some kids were so obsessed with the Hamilton soundtrack
that they kept singing it during Ms. Lotton‐Barker’s Literary Luncheons. It has grown to
include all grade levels in the school, and those passing her classroom regularly hear
kids belting out Dear Evan Hanson or Les Misérables songs while eating their
sandwiches. This burgeoning musical madness convinced Mrs. Neuteboom and Mrs.
Bonnewell, the theatre and music teachers, to stage musicals. These dedicated students
recently starred in Hairspray Jr., an inspiring story about being a leader, refusing to back
down and being an ally for those around you. Incredible discussions erupted about the
civil rights movement in the 1960’s, the show’s time period, and our current civil rights
issues. The actors passionately played young characters protesting for integration, while
growing in their own lives as advocates for others. This particular sub‐set of a much
larger cast wanted to bring their favorite song to the stage again in Ovation. They felt
this message will always be relevant. Bravo, Bulldogs!
Dmitrii Tulupov, violin
• Lawrence High School – 10th grade
Native of Astrakhan, Russia, Dmitrii is currently an
international exchange student at Lawrence High
School. He has been playing violin since he was five
years old and is a prize winner of several national
and international violin competitions. Before this
year, Dmitrii had visited the U.S. in the summers of
2015 and 2016 participating in summer festivals in
Wichita, KS; Riverside, CA; and Music Mountain, CT. Besides violin, Dmitrii is also good
at classic dance. In Astrakhan, he has one sister, three brothers and two cats.
Ben Willems, drums
• Southwest Middle School – 7th grade
Ben started playing drums when he was five years
old under the instruction of his musician father. As
his skill developed, he transitioned into private
lessons from Dylan Basset during the last four years.
He loves the variety of instruments that being a
percussionist allows him to play. Ben has also
studied piano for five years. Ben plays percussion in
the band at Southwest Middle School, where he is
principal player of the 7th grade percussionists. He
received the great honor of being chosen for the John Phillip Sousa Honor Band this year
and has been accepted into the All‐City Jazz Band for the last two years. Ben was able to
participate in the River City Rock Camp these past two summers where he enjoyed
being a part of a band and performing at the Granada. He also enjoyed participating in
the Midwestern Music Camp this past summer. Ben puts hours of hard work into his
music and his family is very proud of his dedication and talent.
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