Ten Sonoma County Teens Advance to Finals of Online Talent Contest
Santa Rosa based Redwood Empire Stereocasters and its five radio stations (93.7 The Bull, Jazzy 99.1, 100.1 KZST, 102.7 The Wolf, 106.3 The Beat) are hosting the competition with sponsor support from local phone and internet company Sonic.
With schools closed and live stage performances canceled, the first ever Sonoma County Stars of Tomorrow youth talent competition is providing local teenagers with a creative at-home outlet that is proving to be very popular. Santa Rosa based Redwood Empire Stereocasters and its five radio stations (93.7 The Bull, Jazzy 99.1, 100.1 KZST, 102.7 The Wolf, 106.3 The Beat) are hosting the competition with sponsor support from local phone and internet company Sonic.
An original field of 36 contestants was narrowed to ten finalists after radio station listeners viewed the online performance videos and cast more than 73,000 votes for their favorites. The finalists will now compete for more than ten-thousand dollars in prizes, but only one will earn the Grand Prize of a $5000 account at Community First Credit Union.
The winner and runner-up, who gets a $1500 gift certificate for Montgomery Village shopping center, will be decided by a panel of celebrity judges, all professionals in the entertainment industry with local ties. The judges are Tony Gonzalez of Transcendence Theatre Company, film producer and former record producer John Iervolino, talent agency owner Julie Nation, Tommy Rickard of the band Wonder Bread 5, and syndicated radio personality Elaina Smith who is heard on more than 100 stations across the USA. They will view new performance videos from the finalists and make their selections as part of a live streamed Finals Event on June 16.
The webcast show will be hosted by radio station personalities who will also be raising money to benefit the Luther Burbank Center’s Arts and Education Fund which provides programs in music, dance, theater and visual arts to over 40,000 area school children each year. Viewers will be able to make donations online as they watch the show.
The Sonoma County Stars of Tomorrow finalists, ages 14-18, include singers, songwriters and musicians, as well as a Krump dancer and a Kendama player. The finalists are Bella Blue of Petaluma, Benjamin Carver of Santa Rosa, Chloe Cullen of Petaluma, Carson Hay of Santa Rosa, Hannah Hosier of Santa Rosa, Sophia Kandler of Petaluma, Ella Kushins of Santa Rosa, Cambryel Salfi of Sonoma, Julian Soto of Santa Rosa, and Elenise Tuaua of Rohnert Park.
