Winners announced in rotary’s Performing Arts Competition
The Rotary Club of Pottstown hosted its eight annual Performing Arts Competition on Nov. 11 at the Center for the Arts Building located on the campus of The Hill School, Pottstown. The Club partners with The High Street Music Company and The Hill School to sponsor this event. Students from grades eight through twelve are eligible to compete. The competition is divided into three categories: Vocal-Pop/ Broadway/Jazz; Vocal-Classical/Opera; and Instrumental. A 1st Place $1,000 scholarship, a 2nd Place $500 scholarship and a 3rd Place $250 scholarship are awarded in each category.
The following students competed in the Vocal Pop/ Broadway/Jazz category: Rebecca Emery, Madison Keenan, Jordan McAndrew, Carol McDevitt, Matthew Saylor, Nathan Sekela, Jocelyn Shank, Sofia Stankiewicz and Olivia Wallace. First place winner was Jordan McAndrew. Second place winner was Jocelyn Shank, and third place winner was Sofia Stankiewicz.
In the Instrumental category the following students competed: Neha Chongtham, Daniel DiMarino, Alexandra He, Chris Jung, Luke Opielski and Xandro Xu. First place winner was Alexandra He. Second place winner was Chris Jung, and third place winner was Daniel DiMarino.
Rounding out the competition, the following students competed in the Vocal Classical/Opera category: Bryce Bundens, Madison Keenan, Jordan McAndrew, Jahnavi Rao, Nathan Sekela and Sofia Stankewicz. First place winner was Jahnavi Rao. Second place winner was Jordan McAndrew, and third place winner was Madison Keenan.
Judges for the competition were Dr. Lilian Eyre, an associate professor and director of music therapy at Immaculata University in Pennsylvania; Lou Lanza, a member of the music faculty at Moravian College where he teaches voice and also a faculty member at DeSales University where he oversees practicums for musical theater vocal studies; and Larry Marshall, a Sakae drum artist. He is a Jazz drum instructor, the instructor of the Pottstown High School drum line, and he conducts drumming clinics and master classes in the U.S.A. and abroad.
Funding for the scholarships and related expenditures for this event is provided through donations from the sponsor of the evening’s program book and from the Rotary Club of Pottstown’s Designer Purse Bingo fundraiser. The Rotary Club of Pottstown meets at Brookside Country Club at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Members of the Rotary Club serve the local community in countless ways, some of which include supporting the Pottstown Halloween Parade, organizing the annual Rotary Duck Race benefiting other nonprofit organizations in the area; organizing and supporting the Walking School Bus program in the Pottstown schools, and supporting literacy initiatives in our community. The Pottstown Rotary Club is a member of Rotary International, the world’s first service club organization with more than 1.2 million member in 33,000 clubs worldwide.