Madison, Wis. – Overture Center announced the 2016/17 Rising Stars finalists. They will perform on the Capitol Theater stage Saturday, September 24, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. Members of Madison and the surrounding communities are encouraged to attend and support their neighbors, friends or family.

Overture’s Rising Stars 2016 Finalists:
Adult Music Finalists

• Chloe Webster* from DeForest
• Dr. Roderquita K. Moore* from Madison
• Scott Lewis* from Madison
• BOUND TO BE FREE* from Madison
• Shlomo Calvo* from Madison
• Prone to Sorrow from Janesville
• Alan Holverson from Monroe
• Mark Harrod from Belleville

Teen Music Finalists

• Forte Fusion* from Verona
• Molly Rae Kiser from Beloit
• Chelsea Melnick from Madison
• Surya Ganesan from Verona
• Danielle Crim from Fitchburg
• Alex Oglesby from Verona
• The Rockabilly Kid from Monticello

Youth Music Finalists

• Elijah Edwards from Madison
• Declan Killeen Toomey* from Verona
• Gemma Miller from Madison
• Ananya Krishna from Verona

Teen Dance Finalists

• X-Clusive Movement* from Madison
• Katie Burville from Waunakee
• Gotta Dance Academy of Performing Arts from Lancaster
• John Crim from Fitchburg
• Blake Washington from Madison
• Shruti Parthasarathy from Middleton

Youth Dance Finalist

• William Taylor from Lancaster  

*Denotes participation in 2014 and/or 2015 Rising Stars competitions.

Cash prizes and upgraded Broadjam memberships will be awarded to Finalists in up to 9 categories who are named Overture’s Rising Stars. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Primo Broadjam membership have an opportunity to perform at Overture next season. Everyone who auditioned received a general Broadjam membership.

As part of Overture’s 10th Anniversary, Overture’s Rising Stars was premiered as a local talent search aimed at highlighting and celebrating members of our local communities. In its first year, the program garnered more than 200 acts auditioned at six sites across Dane County.

The Finals

• Saturday, September 24, 2016, at Overture Center for the Arts (Capitol Theater) at 7:30 p.m.
• Tickets start at $10 and are available now at overture.org or by calling 608.258.4141

Judges (biographies in attachment):

• Anglinia Washington
• Corey Mathew Hart (2014 Overture’s Rising Stars Grand Prize Winner)
• DJ Pain 1
• Jessica Lanius
• Scott O’Donnell
• Tony Castañeda

This project is supported by Arts Access, a component fund of the Madison Community Foundation, Madison-Kipp Corporation, and Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, the Evjue Foundation Inc., the charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Editor’s note: If interested in on-site or advance coverage, please contact Sarah to arrange.

Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies, and hundreds of local artists engage nearly half a million people in educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture.org