Nearly 70 amateur singers from throughout Indiana and Berrien County, Michigan, auditioned for 10 spots in the 17th annual Hoosier Star competition.
Five Adult Division (age 18 and older) finalists and five Youth Division (age 17 and younger) finalists each perform with La Porte County Symphony Orchestra musicians on Sept. 17 at La Porte Civic Auditorium to compete for the Hoosier Star title and a $1,000 first-place prize. Second-place winners receive $500.
“I’m just so impressed with the finalists who have so much poise, especially the youth,” said Tim King, executive director of La Porte County Symphony Orchestra and one of the committee members for Hoosier Star.
“We’ve always had the youth sing first, had intermission and then had the adult finalists sing. This year we’re going to flip it. We’re having the adults go first, having intermission and then having the youth sing.
“There tends to be a little more excitement about the youth finalists. They tend to bring more of their fan clubs from high schools and things like that. It gives a crescendo to the evening to start with the adults first and then go to the youth.”
The Youth Division finalists are Lauren Eggleston of South Bend, Savannah Holley of Michigan City, Luke Housman of Rensselaer, Krishaa Motycka of Terre Haute and Addison Stout of Fort Wayne.
The Adult Division finalists are Laurel Blankenship of La Porte, Maddy Haskell of Lake Station, Jessica Johnson of Michigan City, Shania Povlock of La Porte and Julia Thorn of Crown Point.
“We have a lot of talent in this state,” said King of Rolling Prairie.
“We’ve been seeing new people for 17 years. That’s 170 acts that have had the opportunity to sing with the orchestra. I’m just really thrilled that we offer that opportunity.”
The winners of 2022’s Hoosier Star will be decided by audience vote, both in person and online, and a panel of judges, which comprises 25 percent of the vote.
The judges are Alastair Willis, a Grammy-nominated conductor and South Bend Symphony Orchestra’s music director; Lou Voelker, a partner at Indiana law firm Eichhorn & Eichhorn and a member of the group Cripple Creek; and Greta Stirling Friedman, a Superior Court judge who is active in local theater.
“A lot of the audience comes to support their one person in the concert so there’s just an energy that’s throughout the evening,” King said.
“They do listen very intently while the person is singing and, of course, they applaud loudly after the person has sung. It’s a real boost for the performers onstage. There’s an energy about Hoosier Star that you probably don’t get at other concerts.”
Carolyn Watson, music director of La Porte County Symphony Orchestra and the new director of orchestras at the School of Music at the University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, takes over conducting duties for Hoosier Star, which had been guest conducted by her friend Willis since 2018.
“Carolyn is really good about working with soloists so I don’t see this as any different than what she would do for a subscription concert. She’s used to standing at the podium and working with soloists. She has such a good manner,” King said.
“She really is an educator first so she’s used to working with students. I think this is going to be really cool to watch her work especially with the youth. She’s very good at making you feel comfortable and at ease.”
This year’s Hoosier Star also features the competition’s 2021 champions returning to perform their winning numbers, which include “Il Mare Calma Della Sera” by last year’s Youth Division champion Joseph Giuliani of La Porte who won after being in the finals during two previous years.
South Bend resident Jarynn Sampson, who was the first former Youth Division winner to win the Adult Division in 2021, returns after nine months of performing in the musical “Six” on the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Norwegian Breakway, to sing “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from the musical “Funny Girl.”
“I don’t foresee this ending anytime soon,” said King. Hoosier Star, is a benefit concert for La Porte County Symphony Orchestra, which serves 110,000 residents of its namesake county and other regions including southwest Michigan.
“Based upon the talent that I’ve seen this could go on for quite a while.”
Hoosier Star
When: 7 p.m. Sept. 17
Where: La Porte Civic Auditorium, 1001 Ridge St., La Porte
Tickets: $15 adult or $5 ages 12 and younger in person; $15 for livestream
Information: 219-362-2325; lcso.net
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
