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COMPETITION, MUSIC
UofT Idol
Presented by Hart House
Hart House and the Hart House Music Committee are very proud to announce the winners from the inaugural season of U of T Idol.
Third place and a $50 prize are awarded to emergent performer Kristine Routhier. Second place, a position as an opening act in the next season and a $100 prize are awarded to computer science specialist, Sherry Lynn Lee. Finally, first place: studio time with an engineer and a finished demo courtesy of CIUT, an interview on CIUT, a $200 cash prize and the title of U of T Idol goes to UTSC student, Patrick Simeon!
Pat Simeon is a 20-year old singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada. He been a performer for just over 2 years, and throughout those times he has been blessed with many opportunities to be able to share his music to the public. He has performed all over the GTA, and have joined and won competitions such as Kollaboration Toronto and Yorkdale’s Got Talent, which have all helped increase his fan base. He delivers an acoustic R&B sound, and also delivers many unique renditions of today’s songs, which sets his identity in music.
Congratulations goes to all of the contestants and thank you to the judges and fans who voted to name your U of T Idol. We look forward to the fall of 2012 and the launch of another season.
Details: Hart House is proud to host a series of vocal competitions that will determine: who is the U of T Idol? Modelled after the popular reality show, U of T Idol promises to have all of the drama and talent of the original with incredible prizes for the winners. Each evening is hosted by Dave Clark and features his band The Woodshed Orchestra, who will accompany each vocalist as they strive for U of T stardom.
Video Teaser of Round One
Video Teaser of Round Two
Video Teaser of Round Three
Video Teaser of Round Four
Video Teaser of Round Five
PRIZES
1st place: studio time (8hrs) with an engineer and a finished demo courtesy of CIUT plus $200 and an interview on CIUT.
2nd place: $100 and an opening act slot in our 2012/2013 line-up
3rd place: $50
When: U of T Idol occurs one Thursday each month from October to March.
Thurs. Oct. 13, 2011 / WINNER: Alyssa Curto moves on to final round
Thurs. Nov. 17, 2011 / WINNER: Nerissa Bradley moves on to final round
Thurs. Dec. 8, 2011 / WINNERS: Katie Lai (audience pick) & Rudy Silvamer (judges pick) both move on to final round
Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012, 8:00 pm / WINNER: Kristine Routhier moves on to final round
Thurs. Feb. 9, 2012, 8:00 pm / WINNERS: Sherry-Lynn Lee and Patrick Simeon move on to the final round
Thurs. Mar 22, 2012, 8:45 pm FINALE
Where: Arbor Room, Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto
Cost: Free (No advance tickets)
View this teaser from the first round on October 13th!
View this teaser from the second round on November 17th!
View this teaser from the third round on December 8th!
View this teaser from the fourth round on January 19!
View this teaser from the fifth round on February 9!
Winners:
Alyssa Curto has been singing before she could talk and dancing before she could walk. She has a passion for all genres and styles of music from rock to pop to jazz to theatre, to opera and back again. She currently studies Vocal Performance at the University of Toronto and has performed on many stages both in Toronto and in her hometown of Hamilton. Some of her stage credits include Rizzo (Grease), Liesl (The Sound of Music), Gigi (Miss Saigon), Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Tzeitel (Fiddler on the Roof) to name a few. She hopes to continue singing and one day become a world renowned performer. "Respira Libero!"
Nov. 17, 2011: Nerissa Bradley
Nerissa Bradley is a 21 year old Trinity College student whose singing career began at the tender age of six. Always having a passion for music and performance, she went on to receive piano lessons and vocal training and has competed in regional Kiwanis competitions in her hometown of Windsor Ontario, winning several awards. She's also performed in many musical theatre productions, and has participated in several community choirs.
Her musical style is far reaching- classical, from early training, jazz, gospel, soul, and R&B. She has a passion for music of all kinds especially soul and jazz, having served as the Jazz a Vocalist for her high school Jazz Band. At U of T she has been an active Varsity anthem singer for three years and sang with the U of T Gospel Choir in 2008-2009. She performs annually at the Trinity College Cabaret and campus coffeehouses. Her greatest accomplishment was singing at Carnegie Hall with her choir in 2009. Above all, she sings from the heart.
Katie has had a passion for music her entire life, with nearly two decades of professional training in piano and singing. She has been involved in many school and professional choirs, competing in music festivals in choirs and as a soloist. Last year she was a finalist in the Ontario Music Festival in the Musical Theatre category.
Katie has been in many musical theatre productions as well (favourite roles including Kim in Miss Saigon and Hope in Urinetown), which is where she learned to truly love the stage. Katie is grateful for the opportunity to perform in the Idol competition and thanks her family and friends for their support. Watch Katie on YouTube.
Toronto Hispano calls him "the young Latin promise." Rudy Silvamer raised and born in Mexico City is studying his fourth year in neuroscience at the University of Toronto. A conservatory trained musician and award-winning filmmaker, his passion in arts can be appreciated in his album ORKESTRA that was recorded with help from musicians from the Faculty of Music at U of T, as well as his film Life is a Symphony that received heavy support from the Film Board at the University of Toronto and the U of T Film Festival. Since his breakthrough as fan favourite in EMI Music Next Music Superstar in Summer 2011 Rudy has received accolades by national and local press. His national radio debut was in January 8th 2012 with a 15 minute interview by prestigious CBC journalist Mary Ito on her show Fresh Air, Canada's most listened-to weekend program. Mary and CBC producer Mariel Borelli were so impressed with his passion and artistic vision that they asked legendary publicist Jane Harbury (publicist for the Juno Awards) to listen to his album... Currently, Jane is helping Rudy mount a record-label showcase for May 29th inviting A-list press and record executives to take a listen themselves...
Jan. 19, 2012: Kristine Routhier
Having a passion for singing all her life, Kristine is a professional at belting out songs in the shower and in the car. Her desire to sing comes from her love and appreciation for all types of music, but a fear of singing in public has stopped her from showing people her voice... until now. U of T idol has been a great opportunity to overcome her fear through an unforgettable experience. Kristine loved singing this past January with the band and along side her fellow contestants. She is very honored to have gone through to the next round and is excited to sing her heart out this coming March.
At the age of 14, Sherry dared herself to write a song. It seemed like a far-fetched idea for a teenager growing up in Mauritius, a tiny tropical island. Yet, a few years later, she recorded and released her first EP, encouraged by a local label. The acoustic-pop EP, “Change Me As We Go”, earned her accolades from local musicians, TAXI.com and international songwriting contest panelists. Much like influences Tracy Chapman and powerhouse Amy Lee (Evanescence), Sherry’s signature sound is organic, focused on the melody and driven by her vocal performance. She is currently writing new material while completing her final semester towards a specialist degree in Computer Science at the University of Toronto. More @ www.sherrylee.ca
Pat Simeon is a 20-year old singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada. He been a performer for just over 2 years, and throughout those times he has been blessed with many opportunities to be able to share his music to the public. He has performed all over the GTA, and have joined and won competitions such as Kollaboration Toronto and Yorkdale’s Got Talent, which have all helped increase his fan base. He delivers an acoustic R&B sound, and also delivers many unique renditions of today’s songs, which sets his identity in music.
About The Woodshed Orchestra: The Woodshed Orchestra was founded in 2005 by Toronto musician, educator, and composer Dave Clark in order to celebrate friendship and love through music. Clark called upon some of the finest folks he knew to make the gumbo boil and the people dance. It took a while to get the flavour just right, but it came to be and now in 2011 the year of “Give us something to celebrate about ‘cause we’ve been hit too many times by the dark side,” the Woodshed has come to say to one and all, “There is love, there is hope, live your dreams, it’s not what it seems, don’t get weighed down by low rent clowns who scatter all the minds through wi‐fi and phone lines, you are good, look in your heart, come with us, it’s time to start, let’s think of peace, let’s try to be kind, let’s give what we’ve got, it’ll bring peace of mind, because you know after the show when the lights are dark there’ll be that spark, that right connection in the direction towards Love & Affection.”
The Woodshed Orchestra Players
Dave Clark – drums/vocals
Michael Herring – bass/vocals
Karen Ng – saxophone/vocals
Joe Lapinski – guitar/vocals
Miss Julia Hambleton – clarinet/vocals
Jason Kenemy – piano/vocals
Ken McDonald – bass/vocals
Tania Gill – piano/vocals
Nick Buligan – horns/vocals
Scott Thomson – trombone/vocals
Rebecca Hennessy – trumpet/vocals
Tom Howell – violin/piano/vocals
Doug Friesen – trombone/bass/vocals
Susanna Hood – vocals
Paul Kolinski – piano/guitar/ukulele/drums/vocals
Chris Banks – bass/vocals
Gord Allen – trumpet.
Hart House/ härt hous / noun
- A living laboratory of social, artistic, cultural and recreational experiences where all voices, rhythms and traditions converge.