Move over Susan Boyle; the next UConn Idol will soon have supreme bragging rights on campus. The UConn Idol competition will culminate in a challenge round among the 11 finalists on Thursday, April 15, at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts in Storrs, sponsored by Coca-Cola. Initial auditions took place on Monday, March 1, in front of a live audience in the Student Union Theatre. The auditions, open to any UConn student who wished to participate, drew 28 contestants. Videotapes of these performances were voted on by the UConn community in early March. The audience selected 10 winners and the Fine and Performing Arts Committee of the Student Union Board of Governors added one more.
UCTV aired the auditions, and they also appeared on the SUBOG website, generating 9,000 hits. A total of 3,220 people voted. The lucky UConn Idol finalists and their major areas of study are: Jummy Aremu (Exploratory), Jen Guha (Political Science), Emma Savitsky (Nursing), Greg Sember (Chemistry), Arriana Turcio (Biological Sciences), Linda Anderson (Psychology), John Valin (Psychology), April Fogarty (Biological Sciences), Amir Nasser Bigdeli (Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science), Jeffrey Lewis (Pre-Pharmacy), and Matt O’Brien (Economics).
Most of the competitors in the final round will perform to track music; however, two will accompany themselves on guitar, and several others will sing a cappella. The grand prize, worth $600, will be a six-hour recording session at Onyx Soundlab in Manchester. Chris Freeman, a junior who won the title last year, will be a special guest star. Last year’s event drew 500 spectators, and this competition is expected to attract well over 1,000.
UConn Idol is one of the Husky Headliners, an exciting new series premiering at Jorgensen that is designed to offer student talent easier access to professional artistic performance space. The series marks a collaboration among Jorgensen, the School of Music and SUBOG. Previous Husky Headliner events this year included an a cappella holiday “Jingle Jam,” the elegant formal footwork of “Dancing with the UConn Stars,” and the electrifying rhythm of the “Step Into Action” step show.
Tickets are $5 for UConn students, $10 for non-UConn students, and $15 for all others. For tickets and information, call the Box Office at (860) 486-4226, Monday through Friday, 11 am-5 pm, or order online at
jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.
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