Singers, guitarists and other musical performances kicked off night four of Orientation Week for members of the Class of 2021 as new ‘Canes showcased their talents during the CaneStage New Student Talent Show at the Rathskeller Thursday night.
The annual talent show, hosted by the CaneStage Theatre Company, is one of the most popular events during Orientation Week. The event attracts hundreds of students each year. This year, there were over 300 in attendance.
Beliz Eryilmaz, Chair of CaneStage, said interest and attendance have increased each year. However, she said due to the spike in sign ups to perform this year, some acts were turned away.
“I’m actually really sad because we had a dance act and a comedy act signed up but we didn’t get to them in time,” Eryilmaz said.
For Dylan Monti, a Music Business and Entertainment Industries major who has released music on Spotify and iTunes, performing at the talent show was something he decided to do spontaneously after seeing only four people on the signed up when the event began.
“They needed people and I just figured I’d do it,” Monti said.
However, as the event went on, more and more people began to show up.
“There was a lot more people than I thought there was going to be,” he said.
Monti, who performed his original song “Olive Green Eyes,” said he thinks the event helped new students connect and find out new things about each other.
“It’s great because it’s a lot of people getting to showcase talents that their peers wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and then that’s a conversation starter for down the road,” Monti said.
Jillian Hobaica, a freshman in the Frost School of Music from Mansfield, Mass., performed her original song “Trouble.” She said she shared similar sentiments and felt the event helped to bring the Class of 2021 together.
“I got to meet a bunch of people from different majors, and I even met people in the audience,” Hobaica said. “Music can unite everyone in different ways, and I think the fact that this was open to everyone and not just Frost students was really important…it really opened my eyes to all the variety of talent here.”