Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin finalists advance to U-46 TalentFest at Hemmens

  • Larkin High School senior Emvi Legaspi and sophomore Emialy Legaspi perform "You are the Reason" by Calum Scott at the school's Talent Showcase on Feb. 15. The brother and sister duo will compete against the other top finishers from the U-46 high schools at TalentFest at the Hemmens on March 8.

    Larkin High School senior Emvi Legaspi and sophomore Emialy Legaspi perform "You are the Reason" by Calum Scott at the school's Talent Showcase on Feb. 15. The brother and sister duo will compete against the other top finishers from the U-46 high schools at TalentFest at the Hemmens on March 8. Courtesy of John Konstantaras

  • Elgin High School senior Isabella Cornejo performs her mashup dance to two Latino pop songs at the Elgin High School Talent Show Feb. 3. Cornejo finished in second place and will compete against the other high school finalists in the U-46 TalentFest at the Hemmens on March 8.

    Elgin High School senior Isabella Cornejo performs her mashup dance to two Latino pop songs at the Elgin High School Talent Show Feb. 3. Cornejo finished in second place and will compete against the other high school finalists in the U-46 TalentFest at the Hemmens on March 8. Courtesy of John Konstantaras

  • Elgin High School senior Yasmin Rodriguez and junior Jonathan Miranda dance to Luz Y Sombras by Desafio Norteño at the Elgin High School Talent Show on Feb. 3. The duo finished in first place and will compete in TalentFest.

    Elgin High School senior Yasmin Rodriguez and junior Jonathan Miranda dance to Luz Y Sombras by Desafio Norteño at the Elgin High School Talent Show on Feb. 3. The duo finished in first place and will compete in TalentFest. Courtesy of John Konstantaras

 
Daily Herald report
Posted2/28/2022 6:00 AM

Elgin Area School District U-46's annual TalentFest is a talent competition featuring two finalists from each of the five District U-46 high schools. The two acts are chosen by judges or audience votes from the high schools' talent shows, which all took place over the past few weeks.

Larkin High School seniors Kayla Griffin and Joshua James sing "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Megan Trainor at the Larkin Talent Showcase. They will compete against other U-46 high school finalists at the March 8 TalentFest at the Hemmens.
Larkin High School seniors Kayla Griffin and Joshua James sing "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Megan Trainor at the Larkin Talent Showcase. They will compete against other U-46 high school finalists at the March 8 TalentFest at the Hemmens. - Courtesy of John Konstantaras

The performing arts competition will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Tickets are $5 at the door or can be purchased at hemmens.org.

Coming in first place at the South Elgin Talent Show and progressing to TalentFest 2022 at the Hemmens is Feather Report. Members have fallen in love with the jazz genre of music and perform a song called "The Chicken," written by Jaco Pastorius. Playing at their school competition on Feb. 16 are, from left, senior Andrew Hilario, trumpet; senior Dylan Dankel, keyboard; senior Collin Van Der Karr, drums; junior Christian Freehill, bass; and senior Olivia Diehl, saxophone.
Coming in first place at the South Elgin Talent Show and progressing to TalentFest 2022 at the Hemmens is Feather Report. Members have fallen in love with the jazz genre of music and perform a song called "The Chicken," written by Jaco Pastorius. Playing at their school competition on Feb. 16 are, from left, senior Andrew Hilario, trumpet; senior Dylan Dankel, keyboard; senior Collin Van Der Karr, drums; junior Christian Freehill, bass; and senior Olivia Diehl, saxophone. - Courtesy of Dave Tonge

At TalentFest, all 10 acts perform in the first part. At intermission, each member of the audience votes for their favorite act. The five acts receiving the most audience votes perform again, this time also evaluated by five preselected judges.

The Can Line took second place at the South Elgin High School talent competition and will compete at TalentFest. Made up of percussionists in the schools drum line, from left, are juniors Christopher Avila, Gabbi Flynn and Anna Fleck, and seniors Joe Lortie and Collin Van Der Karr. Their piece was called "Stinken Garbage," and features unique drum parts designed for trash cans. The members have been collectively playing drums for five to six years.
The Can Line took second place at the South Elgin High School talent competition and will compete at TalentFest. Made up of percussionists in the schools drum line, from left, are juniors Christopher Avila, Gabbi Flynn and Anna Fleck, and seniors Joe Lortie and Collin Van Der Karr. Their piece was called "Stinken Garbage," and features unique drum parts designed for trash cans. The members have been collectively playing drums for five to six years. - Courtesy of Dave Tonge

Those judges choose the first, second and third place winners. The winners receive a cash prize and a plaque.

The school that has the most audience votes combined between its two acts receives the traveling TalentFest Trophy.

On Thursday, Feb. 24, we ran photos of the TalentFest finalists from Bartlett and Streamwood high schools. Today we're featuring the finalists from Elgin, Larkin and South Elgin high schools.

See more on Facebook at U-46 TalentFest.

0 Comments
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 

Get articles sent to your inbox.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the X in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.