| | Published March 17th, 2021
| Lamorinda Idol contestants undeterred by pandemic
| | | By Sora O'Doherty |  | | |
The Lamorinda Arts Council hosted a live, online event March 14 to announce the winners of the latest Lamorinda Idol contest. Finalists in categories including kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade and high school were named by the Lamorinda Arts Council in January. There were over 90 entries, some individuals, some groups, competing as soloists or groups. Videos of competition final performances were then made available on YouTube. Public voting was open until March 10.
The audience award is given to the participant who is not a category winner but had the highest number of public votes, adjusted for category size and number of total category votes. Winners were selected by a panel of three judges, and will receive cash prizes ranging from $100 to $400.
The Lamorinda Idol event, chaired by Steve Harwood, was open for the first time to all students in Contra Costa County and was judged by "a total of eight judges," according to Harwood, "all with musical backgrounds; the judges have been assigned three to a category; and the combined votes of the three judges determined the finalists in each category."
Available videos include full performances, as well as short compilation videos with a 30-second clip of each singer in each category. Videos of the finalists can be viewed at https://lamorindaarts.org/lamorinda-idol-winter-finalists/
According to Harwood, this is the 15th edition of Lamorinda Idol, which started in 2006. "There has been a tremendous response from the very beginning," Harwood said. He explained that for the virtual contest, "absolutely wonderful singers provided well over 100 audition tapes, from which we selected finalists from seven categories. Esteemed judges from the professional ranks as well as the public selected the winners. The public cast 2,700 votes. Harwood believes that the contest filled a gap for the kids during the pandemic because singing had to be curtailed in the schools. In addition to developing their singing skills with workshops with Rena Wilson, co-founder of performing academy headquartered in Lafayette, Harwood said participants had the opportunity to learn a new skill, have a lot of fun, and they all turned out to be video makers. Harwood found that the competition was both a fun and a growth activity for the participants and a gift to the community.
And the winners are ...
K-2 Solo: Jessica Yu
3-5 Solo: Anna Tanner
K-5 Group: Power of Two
Cara Impallomeni
Miranda Klein
6-8 Group: Crescendo Voices
Curtis Resnick
Alliana Lili Yang
9-12 Group: Mina & Jaden
Mina Lim
Jaden Maspaitella
6-8 Solo: Isabelle Porcella
9-12 Solo: Sabrina Hernandez
Audience Award: Isabella Mucha |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA