By Kai-Lou Yue and Jocelyn Cote
Business Manager and Graphic Designer

As showtime nears, the audience members seated in the PAC chatter with their neighbors in anticipation. Soon, the lights dim, and a spotlight appears on Janet Keirstead, the Master of Ceremonies. The judges are introduced, and the 2014 edition of WA’s Got Talent begins.

Judging the event were English teacher Emily Coates, Principal James Antonelli, music teacher Karen St. George, Vice President of the Class of 2016 Olivia Antonelli, and the President of the Class of 2015, Jack Leeber. Senior Glynn Johnson served as the scorekeeper.

Although this event has been hosted by the junior and senior classes in previous years, this year it was co-hosted by the sophomore and junior classes.

To begin Act I of the show, members of the Bollywood Dance club, including Karen Matthew, Madhu Kaushik, Yamini Kumar, and Aneri Soni, performed a combination of traditional Indian and Bollywood dances. This was followed by brothers Alex and Andrew Markoski performing a duet together on the guitar and piano while singing Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”, and then by a few other solo performers, including freshman Joe Karadizian and senior Anandita Kumar.

Fourth in the lineup of Act one was Riana Peladeau, who performed “At Last” by Beyonce.

Peladeau was immediately followed by pianist and President of the 2016 class, Kadar Qian, who played Chopin’s “Andante Spianato” and “Grande Polonaise.” The audience gave Qian a standing ovation after he finished his performance.

Following Qian, there were many singing and guitar performances, all by considerably talented students. However, the last act of the first half of the show mixed things up with a comedy act by Akshay Bhardwaj, President of the 2014 class, which drew laughs from listeners.

Throughout the talent competition, Keirstead kept the audience entertained and laughing at her jokes, puns, and witty remarks.

After a 15 minute intermission, Joey Siriani spearheaded Act II with a display of magic tricks, but was unfortunately halted by Keirstead midway through his final trick due to time constraints and much to the dismay of the audience.

The next few performances in Act II consisted of students singing and playing instruments, much those of like Act I. One notable act was by seniors Jenny Watts and Ethan Walshe, during which Watts sang Adele’s “Chasing Pavements,” and Walshe played an accompaniment on the guitar. Immediately after the song, Watts received a public prom invitation by sound booth operator Court Fiore, which she accepted, to cheers of approval from audience members.

Later on, a singing trio consisting of seniors Rachel Madhur, Sravya Chary, and Richa Singh impressed the crowd with their harmonious voices and a cover of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River.”

Sophomore Sai Balabhadrapatruni, performing second to last in Act II, sang a mash-up of “Gone, Gone, Gone” and “Home” by Phillip Phillips. Many audience members felt this performance to be deserving of a standing ovation.

Finishing off the act was an exuberant tribute to the 1980 film The Blues Brothers by Ryan Cole, Alex Markoski, Evan Doherty, Eric Tavenku, Ryan Dunn, Chris Zhang, Nick Mattinson, Graham Goodwin, Fangru Jiang, and Alex Garrett. A few of the group’s members played instruments such as trombones, while other danced and sang along. Like the act before, the group finished to a rousing standing ovation.

After an interlude of witty jokes given by Keirstead, the scores were tallied and first, second and third place prizes were ready to be given to the performers.

Qian, the pianist, won first prize, while the trio of Madhur, Chary, and Singh came second and singer Peladeau placed third.

“I think tonight’s talent show was a tremendous display of the types of student and individuals we have at Westford Academy […] It’s heartwarming to see all these students come together and it’s great to be a part of it,” said Qian, the first place winner.

Antonelli, principal and one of the show’s judges added, “[It was a] fabulous event. [There is] such great talent in the school. I was just amazed by every act and I give each one of those contestants a lot of credit for getting up there.”

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