Charlie is the champ
Teen singer takes top SOFA honours
One of the highlights of Strathearn Festival of the Arts ( SOFA), which took place at the weekend, was Strathearn’s Got Young Talent.
On Saturday six talented youngsters took part in the live final of the showcase at Strathearn Arts in Comrie Street.
Charlotte Medley, Megan Mitchell, Charlie Deeth, Chloe Bloice, Roisin Balfour and Ellie Closs had been selected by the panel of judges from a range of high-quality entries to the competition.
And judges Caroline Murphy of Logos, Angela Baker of KWIC, Kirsten Brock of KG Dance and Jennie Turnbull, chair of Strathearn Music Society, all agreed it had been a difficult job whittling down the entries to the final six.
Those tuning in to Strathearn’s Got Talent via Facebook were treated to not only the youngsters’ audition tapes but a live performance from each.
“It was great to see how much talent we have in Strathearn”, commented Caroline, adding: “which made it all the more difficult to make a decision”.
Jennie added that “a great deal of hard work had gone into perfecting all the performances”.
Angela admitted that she had watched the audition videos over and over again in order to make her selection of finalists.
Each finalist had been asked to prepare a new piece of their choice to perform in the live final.
At the end of all the performances, those watching online were invited to vote for their favourites.
Charlie (13) singing Count on Me by Bruno Mars, while accompanying himself on the piano, was confirmed as the winner, with Charlotte, who also sang and played piano, in second place and ukulele player Roisin, in third.
George Carson, who hosted the show, commented: “The quality of the musicianship, singing and dancing from all the contestants are evidence of the excellent teaching in the area – some of it on a voluntary basis – encouraging youngsters to reach such a high standard”.
Strathearn’s Got Young Talent was one of many events and performances which took place over the weekend as part of SOFA.
The festival was enjoyed by local and national audiences and also attracted some international viewers.
All the performances from this event and others are still available to watch on the Strathearn Arts’ Facebook page.