Story by Ben Watson, Photos by Pat Hodges (Photo gallery available below)
On Friday, Centralia High School’s chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society hosted a talent show entitled “CTown’s Got Talent” at the Pittenger Memorial Band Shell near the library. The show had a fair turnout and helped raise funds for the chapter. The show was mainly comprised of musical acts but contained a circus act as well.
When asked how it felt to perform in the talent show, Tri-M Historian Emily Bain, who performed in Act 1, said, “Performing in this year’s talent show was extremely fun. It was wonderful to see the whole community come together and bond over music and share a laugh!”
When asked how it felt to be a winner, she said, “Being a winner of the Tri-M talent show was an honor! Everyone was extremely encouraging and very suuportive. tri-M is an amazing group of students that thrive to see their fellow members excel!”
Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is an American high school and middle school music honor society. It is designed to recognize students for their academic and musical achievements and to provide leadership and service opportunities to young musicians. There are approximately 6200 participating chapters in several countries, each of which is run by the students but supervised by an advisor or sponsor, usually a school teacher.
When asked to describe the Tri-M student body, Connor Lorence, President, said, “The Tri-M Student Body is a hard-working group of students that I’ve been really proud of over the course of this year. They’re always ready to work hard, and they’re a joy to be around. They honestly make my role as president so easy and so much fun.”
The Talent Show was held in an effort to raise funds for the newly established group. Multiple businesses and locals donated to support the group of honors students. The event was sponsored by Baldy’s Barbeque and Catering, Centralia Industrial Painting, Inc., Kat and Walt’s Junk and Treasures, Brandt’s Bunnies Rabbitry and Rescue, Darin Wadley, and the Tri-M Student Body.
When asked about his feelings regarding the overall turn-out, Lorence said, “I was pleasantly surprised with the turn-out. With it being our first year doing this talent show, plus the added obstacle of the Coronavirus, we were prepared for a low turn-out, but we got more people coming out than we expected! Everything ended up going very smoothly, so I would say, personally, that my expectations were met, if not surpassed.”
Though there aren’t currently plans for another show in the future, it will likely return as a fundraiser in years to come. Hopefully, it will mark the return of live performances to the Pittenger Band Shell, and spark a new wave of community get-togethers during and after the trying times of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
