Local talent competition honors competitors
Members of the Eta Beta Beta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi stand on stage at Lexington High School with the winners of the annual talent competition and the judges of the event. Submitted photo.
Five competitors impressed judges at an annual talent competition held at Lexington High School last weekend, and the local chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity highlighted three of the participants as winners.
All five competitors are recognized during the talent competition. Submitted photo.
The Eta Beta Beta chapter hosts the event as one way the organization distributes scholarship monies, and it is a requirement from Omega Psi Phi parent fraternity. According to Chapter Editor Darrell Lewis, the contest is intended to “help spotlight youth in arts and to help them gain scholarship support.”
Chapters throughout the country visit local schools and encourage applicants for the talent competitions, and winners move up the ranks through state, national and even international competitions.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is the first international fraternal organization founded on the campus of a historically black college. Founded at Howard University in 1911 by three undergraduates, they chose the name Omega Psi Phi which comes from the initials of the Greek phrase that means “friendship is essential to the soul,” and they adopted that phrase as the organization’s motto.
Cardinal principals are manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift.
“We are here to uplift, and our goal is always ‘lifting as we climb,’” said Lewis. The talent competition is just one of a number of events chapters hold each year, and the groups participate in myriad activities throughout the year, said Lewis, including things like street clean-ups, toy give-aways, health events, blood drives and voter registration drives, to name a few.
There were five contestants in this year’s talent competition, and this was the first time they have done it in person since COVID-19 hit.
First place winner Alexis Reel.
Second place winner Alonzo Taliaferro.
Third place winner Jaelan Newsome.
This year’s winners were: first place, Alexis Reel, a 10th grade flutist from Central Davidson High School; second place, Alonzo Taliaferro, a 10th grade trumpist from Lexington High School; third place, Jaelen Newsome, a 9th grade tuba player from Lexington High School.
“These students must have training and must perform a published work, and must go through an application process,” noted Lewis. Categories include classical, jazz and gospel and both vocalists and instrumentalists are invited. In addition to those three categories, the local chapter has an open category that includes a broader sweep, but it is a local category only and offers no continuation to higher contests. “But we wanted everyone to feel included and recognized,” said Lewis.
The judges at the competition included the choir director from Parkland High School, the band director from Eastern Guilford high School, and the assistant band director from A and T University.
