First Place – Jade Lester, London’s Western Fair – Vocal Solo

Jade Lester is a 17-year-old Grade 12 student from Chatham, Ontario. She has been singing, acting, and dancing for as long as she can remember. She enjoys all styles of music and hopes to study Musical Theatre at university and pursue a career in the performing arts. Jade is thrilled to be able to travel to Saskatoon to represent the Western Fair Southern Ontario Zone Youth Talent Search.

Second Place – Gabriella Caruso, C.N.E. – Vocal Solo

18-year-old Gabriella Caruso was born to shine. Gabriella currently resides in Kleinburg, Ontario where she attends Humber College, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. Gabriella has a Level 5 vocal certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music and she currently takes vocal and performance at On Key Studios in Toronto. She began performing at an early age, singing in her church choir. From there, Gabriella has gone on to win many awards. She became a finalist at the Uomo Records 2006 Talent Search for Sony/BMG where she was critiqued by Canadian pop singer Shawn Desman. She also won a bursary award in 2006 for the City Of Vaughan’s Celebration of the Arts. Throughout the years, she has placed first in many local festivals such as Maple Idol, Pinevalley Carnival and Woodbridge Fest. In July 2008, Gabriella celebrated her Italian heritage by singing lead vocals with a band that travelled throughout Western Ontario. She ended her summer with her greatest achievement to date. Gabriella won 1st Place in the youth vocal category for the Canadian National Exhibition’s Rising Star Competition and was chosen as the overall Grand Champion. Gabriella’s future seems very bright. She dreams of becoming a host for MTV Canada or would like to work for a Canadian fashion magazine as well as furthering her music career.

Third Place – Connor Steele-Falconer, P.N.E. – Vocal Solo

Connor has enjoyed singing from a very young age. He joined a private choir at 8 years old until he was 12. From 13 to 15 he has sung in his high school advanced choirs, performed in the musical “Oklahoma,” and won an award in June of 2008 for “Top Junior Jazz Vocalist.” Connor is in Grade 10 and has had an “A” average since Grade 4. He also has put a lot of hard work into Tae-kwon-do, training for 7 years and receiving his 3rd Degree Black Belt. Connor is now taking piano lessons and is starting to write his own songs. He will continue working hard in school and on the side would like to start a band, write, sing, and learn to play the acoustic guitar. Connor puts great effort into all he does, so is sure to achieve happiness and success. Connor is thrilled to be here with all these talented people.

Congratulations to all the participants who won their way to this National-level competition, proudly representing their communities and zones from across Canada.

Becky Frohlinger, Variety Solo, Manitoba

Shayne Stolz, Vocal Solo, Northern Ontario

Kyla Cook, Variety Solo, Prince Edward Island

Chelsea Woodard, Vocal Solo, Saskatchewan

Kidzact Procrew, Dance Group, Nova Scotia

James McInnes, Vocal Solo, Alberta South

Mikaela Henschel, Dance Solo, Alberta North

Gabriella Caruso, Vocal Solo, Toronto

David Boulet-Tremblay, Instrumental Solo, Quebec

Connor Steele-Falconer, Vocal Solo, British Columbia

Jade Lester, Vocal Solo, South Western Ontario