Talent Show Draws Tremendous Applause

From left to right: bassist Brandon Broschart, guitarist Gage Howjnoski, utility head John Herb, and drummer Eric Kump. Nothern Revival, a local band that played at the talent show on Friday. Photo Credit / Helmut Kump
From left to right: bassist Brandon Broschart, guitarist Gage Howjnoski, utility head John Herb, and drummer Eric Kump. Nothern Revival, a local band that played at the talent show on Friday. Photo Credit / Helmut Kump
From left to right: bassist Brandon Broschart, guitarist Gage Howjnoski, utility head John Herb, and drummer Eric Kump. Nothern Revival, a local band that played at the talent show on Friday.
Photo Credit / Helmut Kump

By Crystal Smith
A&E Editor

On October 17 at 7:30 PM, ESU Arts and the music department sponsored and hosted the University Wide Talent Show, which boasted acts ranging from song covers to baton twirling.

The talent show was free to the public and held in the Celica S. Cohen Recital Hall, located in the Fine and Performing Arts Building.

The show kicked off with Melissa Valentovic, who twirled her baton off her shoulders, around her neck, and even rolled it around her wrists.

After Valentovic, David Canady presented “Saxual Chocolate.”

Canady entertained the audience with an improvised saxophone solo that lasted about five minutes. After his sax improvisation, he went on to beat box with a series of techniques that lasted for almost three minutes.

After Saxual Chocolate, the show continued with a capella rendition of Edelweiss written by Rogers and Hammerstein, performed by Chase J. Weiss without the need of his starting note.

Following Weiss was Eric Baum covering Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be.” In previous performances, Baum only sang. This was his first performance both singing and playing guitar. He obtained a very pleased audience when he struck the final chord and smiled.

After Baum performed, Ely Reyes had the audience applauding for his cover of “Imaginary Places” by Busdriver. This rap required him to spit out a furious flurry of words. He ended his performance with beat boxing as well.

The next performance was Lauren Sarnese and Dan Bell covering “Royals” by Grammy award-winning artist Lorde. The overall tempo stayed the same, but the acoustic flair added a different view that the audience enjoyed.

Ely Reyes then ventured back onto stage with a standup comedy routine about a birthday with his mother and how Subway handles his BLT sandwiches. He also joked about being a commuter and not being able to predict the weather at ESU from up on the mountain.

The final performance was the band Northern Revival. As the band began their set, the attitude inside the building drastically changed. The band was a force of hard rock and upbeat tempos. They covered “We’re Gonna Groove” by Led Zeppelin, “Little Green Bag” by George Baker Selection, and “Godzilla” by Blue Oyster Cult.

The audience responded well to the last act of the night.

“The Talent Show ended strong with Northern Revival’s cover of ‘Godzilla.’ The guitar-playing was masterful, everyone was in sync, and it was just awesome,” said sophomore Kendrick Diaz.

Others wished there were more acts.

“I’m pleased with how the performances went, but I hope next semester there will be more entries to fill the venue. I wouldn’t mind for another to be held this semester,” said sophomore Brandon Broschart.

One of the performers, Eric Baum, a junior, said, “The talent show went well and was a great way to show off our campus’s talent.”

An audience member and freshman, Jordan Benoit, said, “The talent show was a great display of many talented artists.”

Email Crystal at:
csmith123@live.esu.edu