CLEVELAND — This weekend ten high school students will compete for $18,500 in scholarship money in the 8th annual Shining Star CLE singing competition.
The competition is open to students from ten counties and ten are chosen along with two alternates. This group came out of 146 auditions.
The event is now presented by Mandel JCC after Menorah Park was sold to Outcome Healthcare.
"Music is universal, music brings people together that may not otherwise have ever met before and Mandel JCC provides programming that has a foundation where music is incorporated everywhere," said Traci Felder, Mandel JCC Chief Philanthropy and Donor Engagement Officer.
Mandel JCC has a community mission for all ages and they didn't forget the memory care aspect that started Shining Star.
"We provide brain health programming, we provide digital literacy for healthy aging seniors, we provide drumming for dementia," Felder said.
She added that money raised from Shining Star will not only benefit these types of programs but also youth programs including a youth theater program.
Win or lose, many of the 70 previous Shining Stars went on to shine bright in entertainment careers. A message this current crop of contestants should remember. And even with a new presenter, nearly all the previous sponsors and people who were involved in past years stayed involved, which speaks volumes as to what this event means to the community.
"We have raised already $308,000 in our first year at the Mandel JCC, which goes to really show you how important this event is to the community. It changes lives for the kids that are participating and we also know how critically important it is for the programming that it impacts," Felder said.
The finalists are:
- Caroline McKendry, a junior at Highland High School in Granger Township
- Brooke Peterson, a sophomore at Lincoln Park Performing Arts High School for Musical Theatre
- Anderson Rambler, a senior at Firestone CLC/Akron School for the Arts in Akron;
- Ananya Yadati, a junior at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights and a top 10 finalist in 2022’s Shining Star CLE
- Kyle McFalls, a senior at Firestone CLC and top 10 finisher in Shining Star CLE 2023 and top 25 in Shining Star CLE 2022
- Cassidy Johnson, a senior at Solon High School
- Owen Hill, a junior at Lakewood High School
- Henry Dyck, a junior at Cleveland Heights High School
- Ellie Amorino, a senior at Solon High School and a fourth-year participant of the competition who has made the top 25 in 2023 and 2022
- Kyle Brooks, a senior at Solon High School
The final alternates are:
- Makayla Arambula, a senior at Newton Falls High School
- Natalie Tredent, a freshman at Jefferson Area High School
