SC Future Minds named 11 finalists in the 2012 BB&T “This School’s Got Talent” search
March 19, 2012
COLUMBIA, SC – March 17, 2012 – Celebrity judges from GRAMMYAward-winning super-group Hootie & The Blowfish (HBF) helped selectthe top entries. HBF bass guitarist Dean Felber and lead guitarist MarkBryan joined their former tour manager and current annual golftournament director Paul Graham to help SC Future Minds review the poolof talent.
The student deemed most talented will earn the opportunity to performLIVE at the televised “South Carolina Teacher of the YearCelebration” on May 1 in Columbia. This year, as an added bonus, thewinner will also be invited to perform at the opening concert forthe BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation on May 18th inGreenville. BMW – presenting sponsor of the state Teacher of the YearCelebration – welcomes the talent show winner to perform with members ofthe Hootie and the Blowfish Band and other celebrity performers.
The final videos are posted online at the South Carolina Future MindsFacebook page. and open to your votes! You can vote once per day. Thequalified finalist with the most votes as of 11:59 p.m. on April 1 willbe declared the winner.
Here are the finalists, along with information the contestants submitted with their entry:
Brett Fenstermaker and Nathan Duell are freshmen at Lexington HighSchool and are both in the high school orchestra. Both students playmany different instruments.
Tyne’ Freeman, a Richland Northeast senior, performs an original song.She co-wrote it while attending the Grammy Foundation’s annual summermusic camp last year in NYC. Tyné is a singer/songwriter, and also hasexperience in piano, violin, and music production. She enjoys recordingvideos for her YouTube channel, where she has collected over 50,000video views. Tyné was also selected as a winner in the nationwideYoungArts competition and a was a finalist in the first BB&T ThisSchool’s Got Talent competition in 2011.
Kylie Hinze is a student at JL Mann High School and a 14-year-oldsinger, songwriter and composer She has been singing her entire life,playing piano since 6 and wrote her first song at 8. This is herofficial music video of her single Romeo Superhero that she wrote.
Wesley Hudson is a senior who has been a member for four years of thePalmetto High School Chorus and the Honors A Capella choir. He is also asinger with the Youth Praise Team at New Hope Baptist Church in Belton.
Nick Murphy is a junior at Ware Shoals High School. He loves singing andalso plays bass. This is his performance of You Raised Me Up withKenny G accompanying it.
Devin Nix is a sophomore at Powdersville High School with a deep, rich voice.
Hannah Peeples of Wade Hampton High School performs I Hope You Danceoriginally performed by Lee Ann Womack. Hannah has been singing sincethe age of 5, but did not find her true love of singing until she was14.
Caitlyn Penter is a student at the Scholars Academy in Horry County.When she’s not studying she loves to perform as often as possible and isa featured performer each Monday night at Plyler Park in Myrtle Beachduring the summer months. Her video is a cover of an Etta James songSomething’s Gotta Hold on Me.
Madeline Warrington is a senior at Richland Northeast High School. Shewrote this song about personal experiences she has been through. Out ofall the songs she has written, this one means the most to her. Sheloves music, singing and writing.
Amar Wilkins is Junior at Hardeeville Middle/High School. He is activelyinvolved in the Jasper County Chorus as the accompanist and as asinger. He also sings and plays frequently for school, district andcommunity events.
Shanquel Young is a senior at Fairfield Central High School. She hasparticipated in the performing arts since elementary school and excelsat singing and acting. Shanquel enjoys performing and recentlyrepresented the school in the talent portion of the competitions at theBeta Club convention and performed for the statewide Black Historycelebration in Columbia.
For more information about the talent show, visit http://www.facebook.com/southcarolinafutureminds and click on “This School’s Got Talent” in the left hand column, orcall 803-741-5646. Watch the “This School’s Got Talent” videointroduction at http://scfutureminds.org/blog.
About South Carolina Future Minds
South Carolina Future Minds is a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicatedto promoting excellence in South Carolina’s K-12 public schools bypartnering with corporate donors to find and support successful schoolprograms. SCFM promotes innovation for excellence in public education byequipping and advocating for educators as they prepare South Carolinastudents to thrive in a global community. For more information on SouthCarolina Future Minds, visit http://www.scfutureminds.org or join the South Carolina Future Minds Facebook page.
