LET US INTRODUCE OUR FINALISTS...
Our students have been selected and are about to get to work. We thought we would take some time to introduce you to our talented students as they
prepare for the big night!
Katie Bryant
 Katie Bryant is a 17 year old senior at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA. She is involved in chorus, chamber choir, literary trio and an a Cappella girls group called Chordination. Katie has also been the literary soloist for Collins Hill. She has participated in Spivey Hall Honor Chorus, District Honor Chorus, All-State, and attended the Governor's Honor Program for voice this past summer. Katie won Atlanta 's most Talented Christian Teen in 2003, was a semi-finalist for Christian Artist Talent Search in 2003 and was a top 15 finalist for Gospel Dream in 2005 which aired on the Gospel Music Channel. She has had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem for the Atlanta Thrashers and just recently was honored to sing at Disney World in their Candlelight Christmas Processional.
Katie is also very involved doing musical theater both at school and in the community. Her most recent roles include Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and Emma Carew in Jekyll and Hyde. She has also been cast for a 2008 spring production of High School Musical. In 2007 she was selected to perform in the opening number at Georgia State Thespian Conference in Jonesboro , Georgia .
Katie will be attending Lee University next fall where she plans to major in Music Business with an emphasis in Vocal Performance. After she graduates college Katie would like to move to Nashville to pursue a career in the music industry.
Jordan Fleming
 Jordan Fleming is 18 years old and is a senior at Sprayberry High School . She has been involved with musical theater since the age of three, when she began singing with her church's cherub choir. Since then she has gone on to hold many roles including Miss Hannigan (Annie), Ronnette (Little Shop of Horrors), Jan (Grease), Martha (A Piece of my Heart) and Grimes (On Borrowed Time). She is currently President of Sprayberry's prestigious show choir Gold Company, as well as a member of the Advanced Women's Choir there. Jordan is a member of two praise bands at her church, and is the lead singer of one of them. She plans to attend the University of Alabama pursuing a major in either theater or musical theater, and a minor in photography. She hopes to follow her lifelong dream into the bright lights of Broadway, or even those just off Broadway, and a career in performance. She has also thought about pursuing a career in music or theater education to continue placing the love of music and theater into the hearts of youth just like her.
Tessa Hollingsworth
 Tessa Hollingsworth is a 15 year old freshman at East Paulding High School in Dallas , Ga. She is very excited to be returning to the stage after a 4 year hiatus from performing. Some previous credits include: Tina Denmark in Ruthless- Onstage Atlanta, Baby June in Gypsy- Actor's Express, Trinity Child in Murder in the Cathedral- Shakespeare Tavern, Orphan understudy in the Annie Tour- Theatre of the Stars. Some of Tessa’s hobbies include supporting her school's awesome football team and spending quality time with friends and family. She love to sing and hopes to one day be on Broadway and have a career in singing.
Taylor Martinez
 Taylor Martinez is a 14 year old ninth grader at Whitewater High School in Fayette County , Georgia . Her love of singing began at the age of three and she has been a vocal student of Jan Smith studios since the age of ten. Taylor has performed in three student charity showcases sponsored by the studio. She won the first annual Fayette Idol competition at the age of 11, opened for a Neil Sedaka concert and is currently a background vocalist for Atlanta 's SPARE change Band. Among other community performances and participation, Taylor was a member of her elementary and middle school chorus groups and has played saxophone in her middle school band. She has auditioned for national competitions, studied and performed with local performing arts groups and is currently enrolled in drama class in high school.
Taylor enjoys singing and acting and looks forward to a career in performing arts entertainment.
Kierra Norman
 Kierra Norman, age 17, is a senior at the Dekalb School of the Arts. At the age of 3 it was clear that Kierra would be a performer. She has made numerous appearances both Regionally and Nationally. Vocal performances include Laffapalooza (Jamie Foxx), 2004 Trumpet Awards, Frank Ski Foundation, and TBS to name a few. She has appeared in National and Regional commercials as well as multiple theatre productions including, Soweto, Urban Soup (Freddie Hendricks YEA) and The Wiz directed by Kenny Leon. Television credits include Good Day Atlanta (Fox 5), the Black Family Channel (Katrina Documentary, Date Rape, Obsession with Video Games, Personal Style, Friendship, Music) and a special music segment on Kierra who tied for 1st place with “That’s so Raven” for the NAMIC Award. Kierra believes in giving back to the community and has done so through her music at Benefits, Hospitals, Senior and Youth homes. She was also a Counselor for the Youth Empowerment Summer Program (YES). This 2005 Atlanta Talent Challenge winner, 2006 Best of Georgia Talent Challenge winner and Honor student was also selected to represent Dekalb School of the Arts as a National Youth Leader. Kierra would like to thank her friends and family and especially her mom and dad for their support.
Christina Pasqualone
 Christina Pasqualone is 17 years old and currently is a junior at Northview High School in Duluth , Georgia . She is thrilled to be taking part in Rising Talents of ATLanta's "Singularity" with so many amazing people! Her past performances have included singing "Summertime" with Grammy award winner David Foster at the World Congress Center as well as performing in different musicals. During her sophomore year she played the role of 'Golde' in "Fiddler on the Roof" and has recently been selected to play the role of Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes". Christina's most recent project is her first television film to be presented on the Lifetime channel entitled "Queensized" where she will be seen as a punk chick. She is thankful for God, her family, friends and teachers for all their love and wisdom!
Kristen Pike
 Kristen Pike is 18 years old and is a senior at Northview High School in Duluth . She has been singing since the age of three when her first gig was lulling babies to sleep in a day care center by singing the ABC’s to them. Today Kristen is the President of her school choir as well as the President of the Music Honor Society. In her first pageant, Kristen won the talent competition and was third runner-up for the title of Miss Georgia . Recently, Kristen received the role of “Hope” in the high school musical “Anything Goes.” She has been writing her own song lyrics since the age of twelve and now plays the piano to them. Kristen believes that singing her own lyrics is a way for her to open up to people and tell them her story.
“Sometimes when it is hard for me to open up to people, I write a song and let them listen to my lyrics. If singing were not a part of me. I don’t know if I would ever truly discover who I am. Sometimes when I am upset, singing is the only thing that can get me through the day. I am so lucky to be blessed with this gift and I hope I can influence others to be passionate about music as well.”
Will Ramseur
 Will Ramseur , age 18, is a senior at The Paideia School in Atlanta.He is excited to be working with Rising Talents of ATLanta. Will's most recent performance was as the tin man in The Wiz, directed by Kenny Leon for his company, True Colors. He has appeared as Bobby Strong in "Urinetown", Mendel in "Fiddler of the Roof", Frederick in "Pirates of Penzance" and the title role in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at Paideia School . Will has performed in Onstage Atlanta's "Victor/Victoria" and "The Pajama Game" at Interlochen Center for the Arts camp. He performs in the men's quartet at Paideia, in the a capella men's group, and has been a soloist for Mozart's Requiem at Spivey Hall and for Larry Lapin's Jazz Concert. He has had the opportunity to produce and direct two plays at Paideia, "Little Shop of Horrors" and "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", where he also designed the sets. He enjoys all aspects of live theatre and is energized to have the opportunity to perform in the unique venue Rising Talents provides, with the instruction and support provided by such experienced and talented professionals in all areas of the production.
Rachel Robeck
 Rachel Robeck, a senior at Lassiter High School , is a passionate seventeen year old with a love for music. She started off her singing career early, winning a PTA-sponsored scholarship for her recording of "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," when she was only five years old. She then used the money to further her musical knowledge by taking piano lessons. This sparked the flame that still burns within Rachel, as it catapulted her into musical learning, taking flute, voice, and (just recently) guitar lessons. She has been an integral part of the music scene at her high school, participating in both the marching and concert bands as well as the advanced chorus. Rachel has also been a member of the District Honor Band and Honor Chorus. She frequently sings the National Anthem at Lassiter sporting events and has also performed at pep rallies and beauty pageants at her school . Rachel aspires to one day be a part of the music industry, if not performing then still involved with marketing or management.
She had the opportunity to pursue this dream this past summer when she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Muzak Heart and Soul Foundation's Noise! Camp where Rachel and 30 other teens from around the country learned and experienced what it's really like to be part of such a fascinating worlds. Rachel hopes to continue to pursue this dream next year by studying music business in college.
Mariam Sheli
 Mariam Sheli , aka Mariam Abdushelishvili, is 15 years old and a tenth-grader at Alpharetta High School . Mariam was born in Tbilisi , Georgia , and moved to Alpharetta, Georgia in 2005. She began singing in her native country at the age of four, and has participated in many festivals, concerts and shows, earning many prizes. Among these were: the Grand Prize at the "School Youth International Contest EARI" in 2002 held in Rustavi, Georgia; second place in the international festival "DO-RE-MI", held in Erevan, Armenia the same year, and the Grand Prize in the festival "Spring Roses" in 2004 held in Tbilisi. In that last competition, Mariam received the "Golden Rose" award from Princess Nurat, the granddaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Since coming to the U.S. , Mariam has been taking voice lessons at the Peggy Still School of Music, performing at recitals and other events including "open mic" sessions. She also takes vocal classes at Jan Smith Studios and piano classes at Lena Zuiff Studio. Mariam is a member of USA DanceSport and has won 1st place in two competitions last year. Besides music, Mariam loves to draw and read and she plans to work hard towards becoming the best musician she can possibly be.
Dustin Smith
 Dustin Smith is a 17 year old senior and currently attends North Springs Charter Arts & Science School , where he is actively involved in the Drama Magnet program, Orchestra, National Honors Society, and International Thespian Society. Dustin has performed internationally at The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland and is returning again for an encore this summer. Past credits include: Batboy (Rick), Urinetown (Bobby), A Chorus Line (Al), Ragtime (Younger Brother), Chicago (Aaron, Judge), Into the Woods (Jack), Into the Woods (Baker), Annie (FDR), Blithe Spirit (Charles), The Rivals (Jack Absolute), among many others. He has won national acting and singing awards and has trained in New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Atlanta. Besides being a singer/actor, he is a filmmaker, editor, tap dancer, viola player, and screenwriter who can walk on fire! Hopefully you will see him on Broadway soon.
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