Ten local teens got their 15 minutes of fame on Friday, July 24 at the Express Yourself Teen Talent Show.
‘Express Yourself? is the theme of this year’s summer reading group at the Oxford Township Public Library.
‘This just fits in perfectly with that,? said Charli Osborne, head of teen services at the library. ‘We tell them to express themselves any way they can.?
The talent show was incorporated into the program as soon as the summer reading program began, and auditions were held approximately one month ago.
Osborne headed the librarians in organizing the event, but it was a team effort.
‘We all collaborated to get this together,? said Alissa Lemerice, a teen librarian.
‘The biggest thing I did was the order,? said Osborne. ‘It turned out that we had mostly singers. I tried to start and end it with some instrumentals and break it up in between.?
The show opened with a violin duet by sisters, Megan and Bayley Wixom. They performed ‘Ganglet Fran Mockjard,? a Swedish folk song.
Next came two solos: Monica Heirman sang ‘Longtime Gone? by the Dixie Chicks, and Emily Bailey sang ‘Ordinary Day? by Vanessa Williams.
Cara Commons recently discovered her talent for hula-hooping when she won a contest at school. Though it isn’t something she has been passionate about or practicing for years, she decided it would be fun to show off her skills and participate in the event.
‘She likes to take advantage of opportunities,? said her mother, Catherine Commons.
Cara hula-hooped on stage for the duration of the song, ‘Something Beautiful? by the News Boys and never missed a beat.
Hannah Wilson and Shelby Marby did a duet to ‘The Best Day? by Taylor Swift.
‘We practiced every week,? said Marby.
Not only did they show up prepared to land every note, the girls incorporated interpretive dance moves to coincide with the lyrics throughout the entire song.
After listening to Brad Rock perform an acoustic guitar solo to ‘What a Good Boy? by the Barenaked Ladies, the audience would have never guessed he has only been playing for four months.
‘But if you listen to me play and you listen to Liam (who performed later in the show) play, you will hear a world of difference,? he compared.
Next, Claire Agar sang a solo to ‘Archery? which was written and originally performed by her brother, Nick.
Monica said if she had to choose one thing to perform in the talent show, it would have been piano.
Luckily for her, contestants were allowed to enter twice. She took a short break after her solo, and she came back to the stage to perform six short pieces on the piano: ‘Tumbalalaika? (Russian folk song), ‘Mouse in the Coal Bin? by Clifford Poole, ‘Gavotte? by Samuel Arnold, ‘E Cossaise? in G Major by Ludwig Van Beethoven, ‘Sonata? in G by Thomas Attwood and ‘Linus and Lucy? by Vince Guardaldi.
The show came to a close after Liam Bauer performed ‘The Lesson? by Sor and ‘The Waltz? by Messonier on acoustic guitar.
There were approximately 40 people in the audience, nearly filling all the seats. Most of the participants said they had performed in front of an audience before, and if they were nervous, they hid it very well.
‘I’m really excited about all the teens who wanted to come show off their talent,? said Lemerice. ‘We had a great turnout.?
So great in fact that it may become a staple in the future.
As the librarians talked amongst themselves during the show, they decided it would be fun to host a talent show event in the winter so kids would have something to keep them occupied over break.
‘I’m very pleased with the outcome,? said Osborne.
‘I’m just happy that they have the opportunity to showcase what they do.?