The May 19th semifinal was the smallest event so far, featuring just 6 very talented young vocalists. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in competition! Five girls and one guy entertained the crowd at LRC in Northwest Houston.

The SEMIFINAL continued the format of BOTH live audience AND professional judges scoring, each counting for 50% of each contestants' score. At the end of the event, the performers received encouragement and constructive words by the professional judges, Lynn Jordan, Chris Ortiz and Jesse Fernandez.

Elkins High School sophomore Jessica Ferguson, won first place and $500, also securing her spot in the 2007 FINAL competition! Harry Perrin, a graduating senior from Klein Collins won second place and $300, in his last (no, really, this time) appearance in YVOH. Good luck as you continue to expand your education and pursue your dreams, Harry! Sophia Buitrago, the junior from Klein Forest, added another $200 to her winnings, securing third place.

The next semifinal is September 15th, and (as always) is open to ANYONE who wants to compete! Next year's FINALS will be in early May, meaning we will have seven more opportunities for all old and new contestants to give it a go!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!

Jessica Ferguson

Sophomore, Elkins High School
Grand Prize Winner
$500

Harry Perrin

Senior, Klein Collins High School
Second Place Winner
$300

Sofia Buitrago

Junior, Klein Forest High School
Third Place Winner
$200

Congratulations to ALL our finalists, in order by appearance...

These 6 finalists were selected from hundreds of students to compete in the the third season of the Culture Shapers Young Voices of Houston semifinal singing competition for students, Friday, May 19th.

KATELYNN BAIN is a freshman attending Tomball High School. She has been singing since she has been able to talk and she thoroughly loves performing. Two years ago, Katelynn started singing at the Oprys around Texas, such as Lake Jackson Theater, Johnnie High's Country Music Revue, Texas Opry Jamboree, Star of Texas Opry and many other live performances. She attended Talent Rock in December and was nominated for the Best New Up and Coming Singer and Duet of the Year at the Texas Opry in Magnolia Texas. She took 2nd place at the Best Country Music Singer in Houston contest In February 2006. Her true love is Country Music, Oldies & Pop.

HARRY PERRIN is a senior at Klein Collins High School. His passion for musical theatre and the performing arts began at very young age. Harry has performed in venues such as The Hobby Center and Sam Houston Race Park. Most recently, he received an All-Star Cast award for his portrayal as Oberon in this year's UIL One-Act Play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. He will be attending The Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre at The University of Oklahoma in the Fall of this year. Also, this year Harry was chosen to participate in the Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa, Florida this summer.

JESSICA VAN DONGEN is a junior at Klein Collins High School where she is very active in both the choir and drama departments. She was born in South Africa and has literally sung all over the world since then. This year Jessica played Mrs. Rita La Porta in the musical "Lucky Stiff" and last year was Mrs. Mayor in "Seussical, The Musical".

JULIA RUCKER is a freshman at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. Julia started taking private voice lessons in 5th grade. This year, she auditioned and was selected to perform at her high school in their first ever "Coffee House" and in the musical, "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown". For the last two years Julia has made it to the finals of the Fort Bend Superstar Contest by singing show tunes, placing third in the finals for both years. For this and last year, she was a finalist in 93Q's Best Country Singer in Houston contest, and she placed 2nd at the 2004 Fort Bend County Fair. She has performed country, blues, and top 50's and 60's songs with a live band at the Lake Theater in Lake Jackson, and various genres at the Houston Race Track, the Galveston Crab Festival, as well as many other local festivals. Julia was invited to participate in a pilot for a television show showcasing local young talent.

SOFIA BUITRAGO is a junior at Klein Forest High School. Returning to this stage once again, she loves performing at LRC. "Bye, Bye Birdie" was her first musical at age 9, and helped foster her love for the Theater. She loves doing musicals and last summer did the role of Diana Morales in "Chorus Line" at Playhouse 1960. Her favorite role is having played the role of Annie - twice - at the Historic Crighton Theater in Conroe and at Playhouse 1960. She was in Houston Grand Opera's production of "Carmen" and "Pagliacci" in their Children's Chorus. This year Sofia was the first Alternate to the Soprano 1 section of the Texas All-State Choir. She has been preparing throughout this past year to volunteer for 8 weeks in Panama this summer with Amigos de las Americas. She is taking her love of people and singing to Panama.

JESSICA FERGUSON is a 16 year old sophomore at Elkins High School. She has been singing since the age of 6 and her love is Musical Theatre. She was a member of the Senior Company at the Tribble School of Professional Musical Theatre for the past 3 years and has performed in the productions of Seussical (Mayzie), The Music Man (Quartet), Grease (Cha-Cha) and Godspell. She also performed in the Masquerade Theatre Main Stage productions of The Melody Lingers On, Chess, and Sound of Music. Jessica has studied dance for the past 9 years and has numerous performing credits. She attended the Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa Florida and will be attending the 2006 session this July.

About the Judges...

Lynn Jordan

Conductor, singer, keyboardist and teacher, Lynn Jordan has been musically active for over 30 years in a variety of music venues in both Houston and Las Vegas. In addition to teaching privately, Ms. Jordan also teaches public school music, as well as serving as a United Methodist Music Director.

Ms. Jordan received her Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, in Vocal Music Education, from the University of Houston and continued graduate studies in Choral Conducting both there and at Southwest Texas State University. Recently, she completed a course of study at SMU's Perkins School of Theology to become a Certified Director of Music in the United Methodist Church and had the opportunity to study with such notables as Rosemary Heffley, Michael Hawn, Jane Marshall, and Alice Parker.

In recent years, Ms. Jordan has served as Music Director/Worship Leader for churches in the Houston area and has been a member, section director, and patron for the Houston Choral Society for several years. She holds memberships in several music organizations and is also the mother of five grown children and the grandmother of two lively grandsons. She currently resides in Tomball, Texas.

Dr. Christopher Ortiz

Dr. Christopher Ortiz is a first tenor with the Houston Symphony Chorus. Chris holds degrees in vocal performance and conducting from The University of Houston. He has sung with various professional and volunteer groups in Houston and around Texas, including Houston Masterworks Chorus, Houston Grand Opera and Conspirare.

Internationally, Chris has sung with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Minera and the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, featured on Telarc recordings. Chris has been active in choral singing since his days at Jersey Village High School.

Jesse Fernandez

Jesse Fernandez earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Southwestern University, where he graduated cum laude. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Chi, Pi Kappa Lambda, and was an active member of Delta Omicron, the national music fraternity. At Southwestern, Jesse was active as a soloist, performing with the university chorale and orchestra in great choral works such as Bach's Mass in B Minor and Handel's Judas Macabeus.

He recently toured Chicago as a part of the University opera theater program, performing art songs by Debussy, Faure, and Schubert, as well as Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi. In April 2000, Jesse was invited as a soloist to perform with the Austin Youth Symphony. He has also actively pursued theatrical interests, as a featured performer in Dames at Sea, Godspell, Anything Goes, and Man of La Mancha. Michael Barnes of The Austin American Statesman, in his review of Godspell, described Jesse's voice as "especially agile [and] expressive". In the summer of 2000, Jesse was invited to be a featured actor in the University of Wyoming's summer theater program, where he starred in productions of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown and The Foreigner. Since graduation, Jesse has been a member of the Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble, recently returning from a performance of Haydn's Mass in time of War at Carnegie Hall, and is a current member of the Houston Choral Society.

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