| | Published September 17, 2008
| The Orinda Idol 2008 Results are In
| | By Jean Follmer |  | | Lamorinda Blue, Soccer team United 95 Photo Andy Scheck |
On Sunday, September 7, the Orinda Theater was packed for Orinda Idol 2008. Orinda Arts Council Idol co-chair Petra Michel said nearly 2,000 attendees were counted by the end of the day. The competition for grades K-2 began at 11:00 followed by grades 3-5, middle school, high school and ended with group competitions. This year, Orinda Idol opened its high school individual as well as its middle school and high school group competitions to both Lafayette and Moraga students. Michel said this resulted in stiffer competition than in past years. "I think the highlight was that the competition was so close. I heard from some audience members that they couldn't decide on the middle school and high school competitions. The quality was really, really high," said Michel.
The winners this year were:
Grades K-2 Jackie Patton of Glorietta Elementary
Grades 3-5 Jocelyn Purcell of Sleepy Hollow Elementary
Middle School Katie Marino of Campolindo HS, qualified as 8th grader at OIS
High School Sarah Ames of Miramonte
Groups Suvi & Max Duet of Miramonte(Suvi Gluskin and Max Tzannes)
Audience Award Katie Marino of Campolindo HS, qualified as 8th grader at OIS
The initial Orinda Idol competitions took place in May and finalists were announced in June. Judges this year were local musicians Bert Keely and Mathias Montgomery, Marilyn Levinson of Bay Area Cabaret and Sheryl Lynn Thomas of the San Francisco Jazz School. The finalists had all summer to practice. They also had opportunities to perform at the Farmers' Market, the Orinda 4th of July parade and The Orinda House. Orinda House owner, Ron Bonner, said they performed twice at his venue this summer. "It was absolutely wonderful. That's what this House should be all about. I was honored and humbled to be part of it and I would absolutely do it again. I called Petra (after the winners were announced) to see if I could host the winners at The Orinda House. I'd like to do more community oriented things," said Bonner.
Petra Michel has worked with her co-chair, Susan Garrell, since the beginning of Orinda Idol. "Over 80 volunteers are working over the course of the day," said Michel. She said Alan Michaan of the Orinda Theater has been very generous in allowing Orinda Idol to use the theater. Michel also mentioned the strong support from Orinda Intermediate School. "We (Orinda Arts Council) have close cooperation with OIS. Aubyn Severson and Michael Randall (of OIS) support (the Idol) program tremendously and OIS lends us their (production) equipment," said Michel. For more information, visit www.orindaartscouncil.org.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA