Posted October 10, 2016
DAYTON, OH (October 10, 2016) – The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) has issued an official Call for Entries for vocalists with both a passion and a proficiency in singing, particularly music in the soul and R&B genres. As part of the upcoming DPO concert Soulful with Gavin Hope, the DPO would like to show off some of Dayton’s vocal talent to perform alongside the DPO and guest band, Jeans ‘n Classics. Winners of this vocal competition will be invited to perform on stage at the Schuster Center on Saturday, January 28, 2017. Official Media Sponsor for this concert is 92.1 WROU ~ Dayton’s R&B Leader, the Dayton radio station owned by Alpha Media.
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra is looking for two singers to join us, along with Gavin Hope and our good friends Jeans ’n Classics, to perform on stage at the Schuster Center on January 28, 2017.
Our official judges, along with Dayton residents, will select two talented winners, each of whom will sing lead vocals on a soul song—backed by the full Dayton Philharmonic and Jeans ’n Classics on January 28, 2017—for an audience of 2,000 music fans. The specific songs to be performed at the concert will be selected by Jeans ’n Classics, and both winners will sing with Gavin Hope and Jeans ’n Classics at the climax of the concert. Each winner will receive four front-row tickets to Soulful with Gavin Hope.
ONLINE REGISTRATION, NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 31 MIDNIGHT — In order to enter, local vocalists are asked to fill out the official entry form located at http://www.daytonsoulsinger.com. All fields must be filled out in order to enter. By submitting this form, entrants agree that any and all information provided may be used for publicity and online voting purposes, that he or she will be available for the dates listed in bold, and that no consideration of any type will be due to the entrant. Contestants must be 18 years or older and must have a permanent residence in Dayton, Ohio area counties.
FIRST ROUND — A display web page of vocalists entering online will go live starting Sunday, October 16, 2016. These entrants will be vetted by Dayton Philharmonic staff. There will be a voting feature on the display page, and residents from the Miami Valley are encouraged to vote for their favorite candidates beginning Sunday, October 16, 2016. The Dayton vote tallies will be used, in concert with the judges’ votes, to select a field of finalists who will be identified and notified on November 3 by e-mail. All other contestants will be notified at that time as well. Finalists will be announced from the Schuster Center stage on Saturday, November 4 during the DPO Rockin’ Orchestra concert Landslide: The Music of Fleetwood Mac.
IMPORTANT — Entrants may list only one YouTube video and to qualify, it must show the entrant singing, demonstrating his or her best vocals, either with a background track or a capella. Dayton residents and judges may choose to take into consideration any other videos or sound files currently on the web: other YouTube videos, websites Facebook pages, etc.
SECOND ROUND — Finalists will be invited to sing live on November 12, 2016 for our panel of judges (competition starts at 7:00 pm and ends as late as 11 pm). This event will be held at The Dayton Beer Company; Beer Hall & Production Brewery (Downtown Dayton, 41 Madison Street, Dayton, OH 45402) and will be open to the general public. Contestants will be provided a background track, microphone and sound equipment. Judges will attend personally. The final winners will be selected at this time by the judges based on vocal talent, stage presence, general demeanor, and overall grasp of the soul and R&B genres.
FINAL WINNERS — Public announcement of the two final winners will occur on December 9, 2016, 8:00 pm at the Hometown Holiday SuperPops concert with Dayton Philharmonic and announced via WROU and in the Dayton Daily News on Sunday, December 11. A press photo opportunity for Dayton Soul Singers Search will be scheduled at 7:30 before the Hometown Holiday concert on December 9.
PERFORMANCE DATE: JANUARY 28, 2017—Two winners will perform at the DPO Rockin’ Orchestra concert Jeans ’n Classics presents Soulful featuring Gavin Hope at 8:00 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2017.
OFFICIAL JUDGES
* Peter Brennan—arranger, guitarist, Jeans ’n Classics founder
* Neal Gittleman—Artistic Director and Conductor, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
* Faith Daniels—WROU Program Director and On-Air Personality
For more information or to enter this Dayton Vocal Talent Search contest, please visit www.daytonsoulsinger.com. For more information on the upcoming DPO Soulful featuring Gavin Hope concert, please visit https://daytonperformingarts.org.