&
PRESENT
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Laumeister Theater, Bennington, Vt. 3-5 p.m.
Jordyn Travis
Jason Maria Dansby Duffany
Timothy wade
Vice versa
Abby Lively
Rich Levesque
Maddison gretchen Morse Sausville
Taylor hewins
daniel stevens
Pavlov’s DogS
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Thursday, December 13, 2018 | Bennington County’s Got Talent
Our eMCees for the night! Mike cutler __________________________________________________________ Mike is happy to be back as host for the second year of Bennington County’s Got Talent. He was recently named 2018 “40 under 40” Rising Star and is happy to be chosen for such a prestigious award. Mike works at Catamount Access Television as the Creative Content Coordinator, and is also a freelance photographer and videographer. He is actively involved with Bennington Community Theatre and The Dorset Players, and he’s very good friends with Colonial Man. Thank you all for coming; and if you have a talent, please, share it with the world!
Matt Harrington __________________________________________________________ Matt Harrington is the Executive Director for the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is responsible for business growth, economic development, tourism and producing award-winning events in the town. He was awarded Vermont’s prestigious 40 Under 40 “Rising Star” award in 2017. Matt is also an author and speaker for his company, Harrington Brands, which produces the Growing Millennial Leadership Program. Matt has worked with various organizations like Keurig, Advocate Construction, Killington Mountain Resort, Western Carolina University, Mass Mutual and the Association for Talent Development (ATD) to provide new and engaging ways to talk about leadership and organizational growth. Recently, Matt presented at New York City’s Relate Live conference. Matt is co-author of the leadership book, “Survival of the Hive: 7 Leadership Lessons from a Beehive”, and he has a love for scrambling eggs.
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Eric Despard
Long before he was elected to the Bennington Select Board or became the Executive Director for Bennington County Coalition for the Homeless, Chris Oldham could be seen jumping in to perform (or should we say, seen stealing microphones?) in various bands, or monopolizing the karaoke machine at karaoke nights all over town, or even impersonating Elvis (in public) any chance he gets! This self-proclaimed “rock star” began performing at the early age of seven in the North Bennington Graded School Talent Show. Since then, his career as a performer never really took off, but if you ask him, he’ll tell you he’s “too legit to quit.” To this day you still may catch a glimpse of him working his way up to a microphone at a local pub. One of his favorite pastimes is watching talent shows on television, and he’s honored to be one of the judges of Bennington County’s Got Talent!
Heralded as a “talented classical guitarist” by the Times of Trenton, and a “wonderful flamenco guitarist” by Berkshireonstage.com and the Berkshire Eagle, guitarist Eric Despard performs throughout North America as a soloist and with various chamber ensembles. His dynamic solo concert programs include “The Latin Guitar” featuring Spanish, Latin and South American guitar composers and “World Guitar” featuring music and transcriptions of composers from around the world. He is a founding member of The Progression Ensemble, a New Music group that has commissioned and premiered over a dozen new works by American and International composers. A composer himself, Eric premiered his composition “Meditations on...” at several New York City New Music Venues in 2018. Eric currently serves as an Assistant Professor of the Humanities, Director of Art and Music, and the Executive Director of the Laumeister Art Center at Southern Vermont College. He is an Affiliate Artist at Middlebury and has taught at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Westminster Choir College, and Rutgers University. Eric is also a visual artist, and a proud medical musician. He holds degrees from the Hartt School of Music and the Yale School of Music.
Thomas Toscano During Thomas’s teenage years, he became a conductor, and has been one ever since. He has studied with some of the past century’s leading conductors and educators, and performed many world and regional premieres by significant composers and of course many of his own compositions. He conducts rehearsals and performs in four languages. At the age of 43, composing changed his life. He is involved in composition as much as conducting these days, and is proud to say that he has served the old model of composer/conductor quite well for the last 20 years. Throughout Thomas’s career, his passion has expanded from the keyboard and other instruments to conducting to composition and many years later, production. He’s very active in audience development and has successfully focused energies on actively guiding listeners of all ages, utilizing the natural amplification of group dynamics.
Lana Hauben Lana Hauben, President and Co-Founder of Manchester Designer Outlets, has worn many hats in her lifetime. Lana has been a practicing therapist, a children’s book author (check out ”Ice Cream Land”) and is currently the President of Manchester Designer Outlets. Lana’s superior sense of style and keen ear will make her the perfect judge to discover the next winner of Bennington County’s Got Talent. Move over Simon Cowell!
BenningtonBanner.com | ManchesterJournal.com
Chris Oldham
Bennington County’s Got Talent | Thursday, December 13, 2018
Meet our judges
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Thursday, December 13, 2018 | Bennington County’s Got Talent
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Jordyn Travis
PETERSBURG, N.Y. ________________________________________________________________________ Jordyn has been in love with singing for as long as she can remember. She sang throughout middle school in chorus, then started teaching herself guitar about three years ago and singing for audiences two years ago. Her talent first kicked off when she went to her twin brother to tell him she thought she was good at singing “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. After listening to the song, he said she was awesome and encouraged her to make a video for others to see.
Maria Duffany
ARLINGTON, VT. ____________________________________________________________________________________
BenningtonBanner.com | ManchesterJournal.com
Maria, 17, works at Shaw’s in Manchester. She is a senior in high school, and has been singing for as long as she can remember. What inspires her is how music tells a story, and how it can change others and help them through tough times. She is inspired by many amazing artists today, such as Ed Sheeran, Why Don’t We, James Arthur and many more. Maria loves the outdoors and traveling. She also loves going to concerts and seeing the behind-the-scenes of everything. She hopes to use her talent and show everyone that if you work hard, you can achieve any goal you have for yourself.
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Jason Dansby
MANCHESTER CENTER, VT. ________________________________________________________________________
Jason grew up in North Carolina and has been creating music since he was 14 years old. He remembers listening to old Motown records his mother used to listen to while she cleaned, and often wondered about the process behind the scenes. Since 14, he has been able to tell his story and experiences through his platform, which is hip hop. The state of Vermont’s hip hop community is growing. His music is to inform them to not allow their minds to stop growing while the culture grows. When not recording, mixing and mastering his own music, Jason works as an appliance delivery man.
Bennington County’s Got Talent | Thursday, December 13, 2018
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Timothy Wade
POULTNEY, VT. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Timothy has been singing since he was a small child, when he took a liking to Garth Brooks. It has now grown into a hobby and a big part of his life. He often sings karaoke at different local venues and also had the chance to sing in last year’s Bennington County’s Got Talent show. He is currently employed at GE Aviation. In his down time, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his dog Nahla, riding his motorcycle and being with family and friends.
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Vice Versa
BENNINGTON, VT. ________________________________________________________________________ Vice Versa was formed in 2010. Brandon Olson (drums, guitar, vocals) has been playing since he was around six years old. A graduate of Mount Anthony Union High School, he was involved in theater arts and various choral groups. He is also great at writing music, which can be heard in many of the bands original songs. Brandon is currently employed as a mozzarella cheese maker at Maplebrook Farm. Dylan Olson (bass guitar, keyboard, vocals) is indeed older brother to Brandon Olson and is also a MAU graduate. Dylan has a working background at SVC in the kitchen area and at the local mozzarella cheese producer. Seth Bartholdi (lead guitar, vocals) started playing guitar his freshman year at MAU. Seth enjoys writing music as well as performing, inspired by his life experiences. Seth interned at the local radio station, WBTN, and co-hosted a weekly music show. He has his Bachelor’s degree from Southern Vt. College for communications and creative writing. Seth is currently employed by Maplebrook Farm apprenticing as a burrata cheese maker.
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Abby Lively
ROWE, MASS. ________________________________________________________________________
Abby discovered circus was a life option at the bright young age of 26. Soon thereafter she completed a year-long performance training program at NECCA in Brattleboro. She grew up in western Massachusetts, which she still officially calls home. While that most definitely is technically not in Bennington County, she drives through Readsboro all the time, so she hopes she can be an honorary citizen and perform in this event.
Bennington County’s Got Talent | Thursday, December 13, 2018
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rich levesque
WOODFORD, VT. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Rich Levesque a.k.a. Bubba Lou Tugget is a 100% true Vermonter born and raised on the top of Woodford mountain amongst all the other Mountain Cats. Both a singer and songwriter, he was one of the top contestants from last year’s Bennington County’s Got Talent, where he performed his original song, “Surrender.” Though he was not the winner, he managed to make a huge impact on the crowd and the judges. Throughout the last year Bubba Lou has been writing new songs and performing all over Bennington while still making time to enjoy the riches of his favorite mountain, hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling and more. He always stays true to the “Mountain Cat Code.” Bubba Lou returns this year ready to perform another original song off of his album in hopes of winning over both the crowd and the judges. If you enjoyed last year’s performance, you will definitely want to witness what he has in store for you this time around.
BENNINGTON, VT. ________________________________________________________________________ Gretchen has been singing since she learned how to talk. Since she was a toddler, Gretchen has loved performing onstage, first as a ballerina, and later as an actress and singer. She was a part of school choirs from fourth grade until graduation, and participated in auditioned choirs as well. Gretchen has performed the National Anthem for the Southern Vermont Storm, and received her Varsity Letter by participating in choir.
BenningtonBanner.com | ManchesterJournal.com
Gretchen Sausville
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Maddison morse
MANCHESTER CENTER, VT. ________________________________________________________________________ Maddison is 22 years old. She is originally from Bennington but currently lives in Manchester. She has been interested in singing ever since she was a little kid, and was in chorus from 1st grade through 12th grade. Maddison would like to one day write her own music.
Bennington County’s Got Talent | Thursday, December 13, 2018
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Taylor hewins
SHAFTSBURY, VT. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Taylor only recently become a performing musician - they’ve only been playing guitar for a year - but the amount of work they’ve done in that short amount of time is truly remarkable. They’ve performed at local high school events, but their biggest show has been Shift Trade, a student led concert at the Masonic Hall back in June. Already set to release their debut album in late 2018, Taylor has written a collection of songs that intertwine the beauty of love with the bitterness of pain, overlapping the simple yet driving rhythm of acoustic guitar with heartfelt lyrics and raw powerful vocals. When not performing, writing and recording, Taylor is a dedicated actor and has performed in several theater productions, the most recent of these being the role of Thenardier in Mount Anthony Union’s production of “Les Miserables.”
BENNINGTON, VT. ________________________________________________________________________
Daniel is a local native who has spent the better part of his life practicing music. As a hobbyist, he enjoys going out and playing in the greater area and bringing smiles to faces. He’s played with many of the areas local musicians at venues in and out of town.
BenningtonBanner.com | ManchesterJournal.com
Daniel Stevens
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Thursday, December 13, 2018 | Bennington County’s Got Talent
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Pavlov’s Dogs BENNINGTON, VT. ________________________________________________________________________ Pavlov’s Dogs is a punk rock trio of Dylan Straczek (keyboard), Derek Lonergan (drums) and Tyler Boutiette (bass). They have been experimenting with music since their teenage years, and cultivating it together for the past three. They are inspired by many, many types of music including rock, funk, alternative, punk and hip-hop. Pavlov’s Dogs played a battle of the bands event in Connecticut, many shows at small bars and clubs in Massachusetts, and a handful of house parties in New England, and had an absolute blast every time. They are in the middle of their first set of professional recordings with AKIN studios. The band’s members spend a lot of their downtime with handmade crafts, hiking, families, psychology and electrical/mechanical repairs.
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