Last Saturday night was unlike any other we’ve spent here at Exeter Summer. It was the night of the highly anticipated talent show. The show was rightly dubbed ‘Exeter’s got talent’, because as we witnessed that night, the Exeter community does harbor some extraordinary talent.
People began filing in half an hour before the show commenced, in order to grab the best seats in the assembly hall. While some came only for entertainment, others were there to support friends who were brave enough to mount the stage and perform.
The atmosphere was saturated with the high expectations of the audience. People chattered excitedly and didn’t even notice the slight delay caused by technical difficulties. Meanwhile most of the performers sat solemnly, bracing themselves for their time in the spotlight.
The first act to take the stage was talented pianist, Luis Vera Toral. He received a thunderous applause for his soothing rendition of the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen. However, he wasn’t the only instrumentalist to grace the stage. Pranav Ramesh, access student, played a Scott Choplin piece as well as a traditional song from his homeland, India. His performance may well have given Beethoven a run for his money. Samuel Luc Muzac, 14, became one of the audience’s favorites after his extraordinary performance on the viola. “I’ve been playing since I was about 7,” he said. “Now I play in an orchestra back home in Boston called the Chamber Orchestra.”
The show was not lacking talented vocalists. A grand total of six singers as well as an acapella group treated the audience to remarkable performances, each with something unique to offer. The acapella group performed the fan favorite “Cup song”, accompanied by choreography. They had most of the audience singing along in no time. Zoe Cheng wowed the crowd with her opera-like performance.
Variety existed amongst the acts in the sense that not performer was musically inclined. We had an amusing performance by comedians Dorothy Baker and William Freedman, who sent the crowd into bouts of laughter. Additionally, there was a performance by dancer extraordinaire, Lal Gurgenc. Lal, who has been dancing since the age of 6, claims she made up her entire spectacular routine off the top of her head. “Dance is something free for me,” she said. “I hate choreography and I just feel the music and move in the moment.”
The performer that knocked everyone’s socks clean off was none other than the 15-year-old magician Selim Bayar, Exeter’s very own Houdini. According to Selim this was his first ever performance in front of a large audience but he had fun and gained a lot of confidence from the experience, although it wasn’t entirely his idea to join the show. “My friends call me a demon,” he said. “They forced me to join the talent show using threats. They were joking of course, but I still did it.” Witnessed testified that Selim’s tricks were mind boggling. Even more astounding, is the fact that he started doing magic tricks only last summer by watching YouTube videos.
“It was very brave of the Access kids to perform in front of everyone,” said Andrea Rivera, 17 year old Upper schooler from Florida. Andrea wasn’t the only one who noticed that majority of the performers were Access students. Students across campus commend the access students for performing although it may have been more nerve racking for them, being younger.
People couldn’t seem to get enough of the talent show. Some also expressed their regret for not signing up early enough. It was suggested that the talent show be held more than once to give more people the opportunity to share their talent. There is no doubt that Exeter holds more talent than the 14 performances we saw.