UPDATE:
On Oct. 12, Orchestra hosted the first-ever Arcadia’s Got Talent show in the Performing Arts Center. During the final show, contestants competed against each other for prizes while the audience voted for the final winners.

In 3rd place were the contestants Clarisse Cao and Genevieve Ngo, both juniors, who performed the song “How Does a Moment Last Forever” from the movie Beauty and the Beast. Spencer Cheung placed 2nd with his magician act and Calvin Nguyen came in 1st with his stand-up comedy performance.

Genevieve explained her reasoning behind joining Arcadia’s Got Talent and expressed that being part of both Choir and Orchestra Council, respectively, “[she] wanted to support this new program of fundraising that [she] hoped would succeed.” She always thought of trying to perform a duet and she “goes to the same music school as [Clarisse], but [they] never had the chance” to collaborate and Arcadia’s Got Talent was a “great opportunity to do so and show it to a big audience.” As for being a participant in the final show, the overall experience was “fun and the perfect opportunity to do something that [she] had never previously [done] on stage.”

In future years, the PA groups within AHS are hoping to have more participants auditioning in the coming years in order to have a wider variety of acts for the audience to enjoy.
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Recently, Orchestra announced that it is hosting a talent show called Arcadia’s Got Talent. In order to compete, students auditioned on Oct. 3rd to compete in the final show. The categories include instrumental music, vocal music, dance, and miscellaneous. As for the miscellaneous acts, there will be a magic act and a stand-up comedy, as well.

During this event, there will be a panel of judges for the final show. The first judge, Lydia Wu, received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in piano under the tutelage of Russian pianist Evgeny Rivkin. Ever since she was three, she has been studying to compete in piano competitions and eventually won the UGA Concerto Competition and Atlanta Steinway Society Scholarship. In 2002, she was part of the member of the of Pi Kappa Lambda, where she received an Athon-Hughes-Cook Piano Pedagogy Scholarship Award. Throughout her career, she appeared in solo and chamber recitals. Today she continues to teach and perform in solos and collaborations.

One of the other judges is Alexandra Kessinger, who is a dancer. At the age of four, she decided to pursue dancing. When she was 17, she won three dance competitions that year and went to Australia to represent the U.S. in the Showcase Dance Championship. Since her mother was a dance instructor, she inspired her to become interested in dancing.

Finally, the last judge, Ray Buffer, is an actor, vocalist, and director. After attending Florida Atlantic University, he received his BFA in musical theatre. In addition, he has also worked in equity theatres such as the Royal Palm Dinner Theatre as a performer, and the Mark Two Dinner Theatre as both a performer and a stage manager. Ray has also worked as an actor and vocalist in opera companies and orchestras.

“There’s obviously a lot of talent in this campus, and we are hoping to showcase some of the talent that is here in Arcadia High School” Orchestra director Ms. Pin Chen said. Ms. Chen also mentioned that since this is the “first year that [they’ve] done this talent show, [they’re] hoping to get a big audience in future years and have more people audition for a variety of acts.” The final show takes place in the Performing Arts Center on Oct. 12th at 7:00 p.m..

As for tickets, Arcadia’s Got Talent offers different price options for seating. The front to middle area of seating is priced at $15 while the rear side is priced at $12. As for the for the surrounding sides or the mezzanine area, tickets are priced at $10. Reach out to any orchestra member to buy the tickets which are now available for purchase!

Photo by Kaitlyn Tran