In a video clip today on YouTube.com, Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart invites individual singers from across the country to submit videos to YouTube.com/group/popsearch07 to compete in POPSearch 2007, a national talent contest that offers amateur singers a chance to perform with the Boston Pops at its annual Fourth of July Extravaganza in Boston. The POPSearch 2007 winner will also be awarded a $5,000 cash prize and appear with the Boston Pops as part of its national tour this summer. Also new this year, music lovers across the country can watch the top POPSearch competitors on YouTube.com/group/popsearch07 and vote for their favorite singer at BostonPops.org or http://extranet.bso.org/popsearch.
Singers may audition for POPSearch 2007, to take place May 9 – June 28, in any one of three ways: by posting a two-minute performance video on YouTube.com; by sending a two-minute audition video (DVD, mini-DVD, or VHS tape) to POPSearch, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115; or by coming to Symphony Hall on May 18 or 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and taping a live audition. (There will be no judges present, and all participants will be judged solely on the merit of their videotaped performance.) All entrants must be 18 years or older and will be required to sing unaccompanied in the initial round. The deadline for submitting a video audition is May 23 by midnight. For complete competition details and an application, visit BostonPops.org.
“POPSearch is about discovering a truly talented singer and giving him or her the chance of a lifetime – to perform with the Pops before a half-million people, then go on a national tour with the orchestra,” said Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart. “Making the competition national in scope through YouTube reflects our place as America’s Orchestra. To win a contest like this, competitors will need strong musical talent as well as charisma – they’ll have to wow audiences here in Boston and across the United States.”
HOW THE COMPETITION WORKS On May 29, the top 16 POPSearch contestants selected by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops artistic staff will be announced, and their video auditions will be posted online at YouTube.com. From May 29 until June 4, music lovers from across the country will be invited to vote for their six favorite POPSearch contestants at BostonPops.org. Online voting results will be combined with votes from Keith Lockhart, a panel of judges, members of the Boston Pops, and the Symphony Hall audience at a special POPSearch concert hosted by Keith Lockhart at 7 p.m. on June 4. This concert will feature the top 16 contestants performing with the Boston Pops rhythm section, from which six semi-finalists will be chosen for the next round.
From June 4 until June 12, videos of the six semi-finalists will be posted at YouTube.com, and music lovers nationwide will vote for the three POPSearch finalists at BostonPops.org. Online voting results will again be combined with live voting results from Symphony Hall when the six semi-finalists return to the stage for the second POPSearch concert at 8 p.m. on June 12. The six semi-finalists will perform with the Boston Pops rhythm section that evening to determine which three finalists will proceed to the final round of competition.
From June 12 until June 28, videos of the three finalists will be posted at YouTube.com and the national audience will cast their votes for the POPSearch 2007 grand prize winner at BostonPops.org. The final round of POPSearch will take place during the June 28 Boston Pops concert at Symphony Hall, when the three Finalists will perform with the entire orchestra for the first time in the competition. Online votes and live voting at Symphony Hall will be combined to determine the POPSearch 2007 winner, who will be announced live as well as to the press and on YouTube.com immediately following the concert.
The POPSearch 2007 grand champion wins $5,000 and the opportunity to perform with the Boston Pops on July 3 and 4 in the annual July 4 Extravaganza seen by a live audience of almost a half-million people on the Charles River Esplanade and several million more on WBZ-TV.
PREVIOUS POPSEARCH COMPETITIONS Now transitioning into an ambitious national competition, POPSearch is building on a precedent of successful competitions in 2004 and 2005. Hundreds of singers lined up outside Symphony Hall both years for the competition’s live auditions, bringing together a diverse array of amateur talent and drawing the community into its beloved Boston Pops like never before.
Previous POPSearch finalists have come from all walks of life – bank vice-president to bartender to van driver for special-needs children – and have specialized in such diverse genres as opera, gospel, and jazz.
Tracy Silva, a mother of two from Taunton, Mass., and van driver for special-needs children, won the inaugural POPSearch contest in 2004, wowing judges with her soulful rendition of “Fools Fall in Love” from the hit Broadway musical Smokey Joe’s Café. She beat out more than 700 contestants from across New England for the chance to perform “Your Daddy’s Son” from the musical Ragtime with Mr. Lockhart and the Boston Pops at the orchestra’s marquis event: the annual July 4 Extravaganza. Ms. Silva has since sung with the Pops as a guest soloist three times in 2005 and 2006, in addition to performances at Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots games, at the Democratic National Convention, and as the opening act for Broadway star Maureen McGovern.
Frances Botelho-Hoeg, an elementary school principal from Kingston, Mass., was knocked out in the second round of the inaugural POPSearch, but returned in 2005 to sweep competition by singing “When You’re Good to Mama” from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Chicago. Ms. Botelho-Hoeg performed with the Pops on July 4 and traveled with America’s Orchestra that summer on a national tour that included stops in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Ms. Botelho-Hoeg has since performed with the Plymouth Symphony and at such local events as Bunker Hill Community College’s commencement.
Finalists in 2004 and 2005 included Wayne Hobbs, a bank vice-president from Vergennes, Vt. (2004); Ellen O’Brien, a sales representative from Winthrop, Mass. (2005); Kathy Porter, a marketing manager and grandmother from Braintree, Mass. (2004); and Joseph Rucker Jr., a social worker from Brockton, Mass. (2005).
KEY DATES FOR POPSEARCH 2007 For more information, visit BostonPops.org.
May 9 – POPSEARCH 2007 BEGINS. Contestants may enter the contest three ways: by auditioning at Symphony Hall, by posting a two-minute audition video on YouTube.com/group/popsearch07, or by mailing a two-minute audition recording on DVD, mini-DV, or video cassette to POPSearch (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115).
May 18 and 19 – LIVE TAPED AUDITIONS at Symphony Hall, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
May 23 – LAST DAY for video submissions via mail and YouTube.com.
May 29 – NATIONWIDE VOTING BEGINS. POPSearch announces top 16 contestants, chosen by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops artistic staff. Videos of these singers will be posted online at YouTube.com/group/popsearch07, and music lovers nationwide can vote for their favorite six semi-finalists.
June 4 – SIX SEMIFINALISTS CHOSEN after all 16 perform live at Symphony Hall with members of the Boston Pops, 7 p.m. Online voting continues for three finalists.
June 12 – THREE FINALISTS CHOSEN from six semifinalists after each performs live during a Boston Pops concert at Symphony Hall, 8 p.m. Online voting continues for PopSearch winner.
June 28 – POPSEARCH WINNER ANNOUNCED after each of the three finalists performs live during a Boston Pops concert at Symphony Hall, 8 p.m.
July 3 and 4 – POPSEARCH WINNER PERFORMS before a half-million spectators with the Boston Pops in the annual July 4 Extravaganza.
Some of the most memorable moments from Evening at Pops are celebrated in this new Broadway's Best at Pops DVD which will make a great addition to your Pops collection.
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