The 2012 Tri-M talent show, dubbed “Orono’s Got Talent,” was hosted on Friday, Mar. 9 by the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Orono teachers Robbie Smalling and Michelle Neal emceed the event, and the Drew Casey Kazoo Choir won the competition with their unique rendition of George Handel’s “The Messiah.”

After an opening act by Take 5, the show was kicked off by juniors Graham McKee and Jack Witcher singing a Bon Iver song. Witcher played the guitar with skill and McKee sang with great tone and confidence. They were then followed by sophomore Parker Roth’s karate mastery. He displayed series of kicks, jumps and staff spinning.

Sophomore Alex St. Dennis performed next with his infamous Lady Gaga medley. After playing a few chords on the piano, he jumped up and danced to a mix of “Poker Face” and “Marry the Night,” both by his favorite singer. Despite several wardrobe malfunctions when his dancing caused his blond wig to fly off, St. Dennis gave a spirited performance.

Then came the soulful performance of Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up,” by Alana Sundby and Greta Schmitt.
Next, Brady Koetting and Reid Schur, also juniors, took the stage with their juggling skills. They performed with balls, apples and pins, and Tri-M advisor and band director Stephanie Hillman even made a cameo appearance.

Then sophomores Cole Timco and Jake Sterling performed “Dead or Alive” by John Bon Jovi. After technical difficulties involving an amplifier, the microphone and teacher Jan Englehardt attempting to save the speakers from blowing out, they performed with good sport. Sterling kept the beat while Timco displayed true talent on the electric guitar.

Sophomore Kyla Evoniuk was supposed to perform next with a song by Evanescence, but technical diffulties with her music force the singer to delay her performance. Freshman Julia Steadman took the stage instead, singing ‘Tim McGraw” by Taylor Swift while playing guitar. Her skill on both the guitar are vocals was evident.

Then junior Spencer “Gus” Gustavson played and sang Green Day’s “Time of Your Life,” also displaying impressive guitar skills.

Finally, Evoniuk took the stage to sing again, but it seemed that there was no salvaging her background music. She performed a capella, and in doing so, stunned the audience beyond what they had expected. Her voice was beautiful and pitch-perfect, and even Smalling commented at the end of the performance, “she didn’t even need the music.”

Senior Hanna Mahan followed with an a capella version of the classic, “Summertime,” by George Gershwin, and then senior Jesse Long played, “River Flows in You,” by Yiruma. Junior Thomas Burgett sang “Hit the Lights” by Selena Gomez next, and then the Drew Casey Kazoo Choir closed out the competition by performing the “Hallelujah Chorus” from “The Messiah,” which stood out thanks to Casey’s enthusiastic conducting.

“There was certainly a wide variety of interesting acts, I thought everyone brought something different to the table,” said junior Preston Schlueter.

If Eye May played a few songs during the voting period, when the audience texted their choice to vote for a winner. Sundby and Schmitt took third place, Steadman took second, and the Kazoo Choir won first place. “We put in a lot of effort and we got a big win,” said Casey.

Said senior David Williams, a student leader of Orono Tri-M, “I think that Orono’s Got Talent was just a really great opportunity for the members of Tri-M to come together and do something as a group which…promoted music in the community.”

Maddie Mayhew is the Online Editor for The Spartan Speaks