BHS Sings Loud and Proud
He said
ErinEldridge'17
This past Friday night I arrived, little red ticket in hand, to a nearly empty BHS Theatre and ambled around looking for the seat with the best combined visual experience and acoustic ambience to maximize my viewing pleasure. After all, Bedford Idol only comes around once a year.
As a particularly vocally challenged individual myself, I am utterly amazed by any of my peers who can not only muster the courage to take the stage in front of a theater full of people for the sole purpose of being judged, but then to sing with Aguilerian precision is frankly unfathomable. Seven talented BHS students representing all classes had my jaw on the floor as they sang their favorite songs for the audience of Bedfordites and in front of an esteemed panel of judges: Mrs. Rienzo, BHS’s very own band director; Mr. Rienzo, enthusiastic husband of the formerly mentioned; and Mr. Ed Bordeleau, music connoisseur. the event was hosted by Miss Jill Tokac and Miss Stina Anderson who won last year’s Bedford Idol and treated us to their rendition of “Happy Days are Here Again” followed by a bit of improvised entertainment while we awaited the final verdict.
I spoke with freshmen Gabby Lavoie and Brendan Joyce after the first round of performances backstage where adrenaline was running overwhelmingly high. When asked how he felt before he performed, Brendan had to say, “I was really nervous, but I was nervous all the way through...I hope it didn’t show.” He managed to sing through numerous audience requests to “take his shirt off!” and if there were any cracks in his performance of Hozier’s “From Eden” accompanied by his own guitar–yet another musical exploit that bewilders me–they didn’t show. After Gabby’s powerful Alicia Keys cover–I didn’t know that such mighty notes could come from such a small girl–, she advanced to the next round and was humbled as well as inspired by her fellow performers.
Mr. Andrew Alvarado, another finalist, was told by Mr. Rienzo, “The way you hit those high notes, I mean I’m jealous. It was insane.” He blew Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” out of the water on every imaginable octave–not that I have the first clue about musical technicalities, but I believe he may have broken the previously perceived limits of the human vocal chords. When describing his feelings before taking the stage he said, “I was really nervous at first and when the curtain opened I just thought to myself, I was just like ‘this is what you love doing and this is why you’re here and you’ve done this a million times.’” Andrew had actually made it through first round auditions on American Idol a while back had to “slap himself” and remember that Bedford Idol didn’t hold a flame to the jitters of the big leagues.
Carrie Underwood would have retired in shame had she seen Miss Daphne Cardella perform, Friday. the justice her voice brought to country won her a spot in the finals which resulted in her second place finish. Abby Crowder sang very sweetly to the stylings of Sara Bareilles as did Jasmen Hunter. Abby, who ivory tickling talent made an appearance in her performance–yet another matter of dexterity that evades me–was told by Mr. Rienzo, “Playing the piano and singing at the same time is extremely difficult and I have huge respect for anyone who can do it.” You could say that both myself and Mr. R were on the same level of stupefaction all night.
In the end, it was senior, Ryan Anastasi who took the gold. He feigned a flawless Bublé in both his numbers that, in accompany with his dapper attire, swept the judges away. His bubbly performance lit up the theater and left me feeling like the sun was shining and anything was possible. Although I realized how sadly mistaken I was during the bitter walk to my car after the show, I was glad I had Ryan’s happy song in my head so I could at least pretend it wasn’t snowing. Before he went on Ryan said, “I felt pretty well. I had rehearsed the song a lot, I love Michael Bublé, and I knew it fit within my range really well and I was feeling good going on.” That unstoppable attitude was glaring in Ryan from where I was sitting and it shot him straight to the top. He was happy the the judges were “very positive, they had positive responses and was just very happy after I finished the song.” Ryan told me that if he had to choose anyone other than himself to win, he would like to see Jasmen, who as of that day had confirmed her spot as his prom date, get the gold. Congratulations on all accords, Ryan!
Whether it be the Talent Show, theatre productions, or Bedford Idol, I never pass up an opportunity to watch my peers put my shower acapella to shame. Our Bulldogs are just absolutely bursting at the seams with talent and the school pride that accompanied the night was well worth the five dollar admission–which probably ended up being closer to ten after my sweet tooth fell victim to the enticing treats sold by the booster club at intermission. I don’t think watching American Idol holds any appeal now after I’ve had a front row seat to the real, live voices of BHS.
This past Friday night I arrived, little red ticket in hand, to a nearly empty BHS Theatre and ambled around looking for the seat with the best combined visual experience and acoustic ambience to maximize my viewing pleasure. After all, Bedford Idol only comes around once a year.
As a particularly vocally challenged individual myself, I am utterly amazed by any of my peers who can not only muster the courage to take the stage in front of a theater full of people for the sole purpose of being judged, but then to sing with Aguilerian precision is frankly unfathomable. Seven talented BHS students representing all classes had my jaw on the floor as they sang their favorite songs for the audience of Bedfordites and in front of an esteemed panel of judges: Mrs. Rienzo, BHS’s very own band director; Mr. Rienzo, enthusiastic husband of the formerly mentioned; and Mr. Ed Bordeleau, music connoisseur. the event was hosted by Miss Jill Tokac and Miss Stina Anderson who won last year’s Bedford Idol and treated us to their rendition of “Happy Days are Here Again” followed by a bit of improvised entertainment while we awaited the final verdict.
I spoke with freshmen Gabby Lavoie and Brendan Joyce after the first round of performances backstage where adrenaline was running overwhelmingly high. When asked how he felt before he performed, Brendan had to say, “I was really nervous, but I was nervous all the way through...I hope it didn’t show.” He managed to sing through numerous audience requests to “take his shirt off!” and if there were any cracks in his performance of Hozier’s “From Eden” accompanied by his own guitar–yet another musical exploit that bewilders me–they didn’t show. After Gabby’s powerful Alicia Keys cover–I didn’t know that such mighty notes could come from such a small girl–, she advanced to the next round and was humbled as well as inspired by her fellow performers.
Mr. Andrew Alvarado, another finalist, was told by Mr. Rienzo, “The way you hit those high notes, I mean I’m jealous. It was insane.” He blew Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” out of the water on every imaginable octave–not that I have the first clue about musical technicalities, but I believe he may have broken the previously perceived limits of the human vocal chords. When describing his feelings before taking the stage he said, “I was really nervous at first and when the curtain opened I just thought to myself, I was just like ‘this is what you love doing and this is why you’re here and you’ve done this a million times.’” Andrew had actually made it through first round auditions on American Idol a while back had to “slap himself” and remember that Bedford Idol didn’t hold a flame to the jitters of the big leagues.
Carrie Underwood would have retired in shame had she seen Miss Daphne Cardella perform, Friday. the justice her voice brought to country won her a spot in the finals which resulted in her second place finish. Abby Crowder sang very sweetly to the stylings of Sara Bareilles as did Jasmen Hunter. Abby, who ivory tickling talent made an appearance in her performance–yet another matter of dexterity that evades me–was told by Mr. Rienzo, “Playing the piano and singing at the same time is extremely difficult and I have huge respect for anyone who can do it.” You could say that both myself and Mr. R were on the same level of stupefaction all night.
In the end, it was senior, Ryan Anastasi who took the gold. He feigned a flawless Bublé in both his numbers that, in accompany with his dapper attire, swept the judges away. His bubbly performance lit up the theater and left me feeling like the sun was shining and anything was possible. Although I realized how sadly mistaken I was during the bitter walk to my car after the show, I was glad I had Ryan’s happy song in my head so I could at least pretend it wasn’t snowing. Before he went on Ryan said, “I felt pretty well. I had rehearsed the song a lot, I love Michael Bublé, and I knew it fit within my range really well and I was feeling good going on.” That unstoppable attitude was glaring in Ryan from where I was sitting and it shot him straight to the top. He was happy the the judges were “very positive, they had positive responses and was just very happy after I finished the song.” Ryan told me that if he had to choose anyone other than himself to win, he would like to see Jasmen, who as of that day had confirmed her spot as his prom date, get the gold. Congratulations on all accords, Ryan!
Whether it be the Talent Show, theatre productions, or Bedford Idol, I never pass up an opportunity to watch my peers put my shower acapella to shame. Our Bulldogs are just absolutely bursting at the seams with talent and the school pride that accompanied the night was well worth the five dollar admission–which probably ended up being closer to ten after my sweet tooth fell victim to the enticing treats sold by the booster club at intermission. I don’t think watching American Idol holds any appeal now after I’ve had a front row seat to the real, live voices of BHS.