They came, they saw, they entertained! What a joy it was to sit through 31 impressive auditions in weeks 4 and 5. But what a tough call to drop this number down to 11. But drop it we did, and 11 of the finest talents Lindfield has to offer stepped up on stage for the inaugural Newington Lindfield Talent Quest on Thursday 6 November.

But disaster struck one of our finalists on the eve of the big event when his arm was broken in an “Evel Knievel” style stunt on the JP playground which left young Baxter Plank out of the competition. Rest assured we will see the talents of young Plank in the years to come. The rest of the finalists included Max Tian (Piano), Oscar Bradley (Magic Cards), Ethan Hardwick (Trumpet), Justin Gao (Piano), Singing/Dancing Troup (Eddie Timpson, Henry Taylor, Gus Ashworth, Caleb Strawbridge), Oliver Johnson (Singing and Piano), James Francis (Piano), Alex Wang (Drums), Dance Troup (Toby Ashworth, Freddie Bourne, Nishi Abbey, Gabe Gordon) and Peter Ngo (Singing).

Max Tian, Justin Gao and James Francis wowed us with their flawless display on the piano, highlighting the deep musical talent we possess here at Lindfield. Not a note was out, not a pause taken as these young musical geniuses produced performances that were worthy of a stage!

Young Oliver Johnson then took his piano talents and combined them with his singing and song writing skills as he took on a Billy Joel classic “Piano Man”….. although, I enjoyed his version more than the original as he combined wit, humour and a great melody to wow the crowd with his exploits.

Ethan Hardwick and Alex Wang then took a different musical note as they played the trumpet and drums respectively. Hardwick was strong in sound and strong in cheeks as he used up all the air in his lungs to produce a stirring rendition of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ that had all the toe tappers working away like mad. Wang was also clinical with his brilliant performance on the drums, showing that he has a future leading a rock band in the not too distant future.

Oscar Bradley brought a different mood to the performances as he completed a magic trick using a deck of cards. With Mr Caulfield as his assistant, he produced some card magic that had everyone…including his assistant, scratching their heads at how he had done it!

And then the dance crews were out in force with a family connection in each with the Ashworth’s and Bourne’s teaming up in a Junior Primary and Primary performance. The crew of Gus, Eddie, Caleb, Henry and Angus managed to sing and dance to a contemporary hit, with front man Eddie “Mick Jagger” Timpson showing real emotion and fancy feet. The younger of the two groups featured Toby, Gabe, Nishi and Freddie and was a brilliant display of poise, cohesion and choreography. Young Ashworth had enough enthusiasm to fill the Lindfield pool and Gabe was smooth, fluent and spectacular.

As far as great singers go, we could rattle off a big list: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Pavarotti and………Peter Ngo! When this young Kindy boy stepped up on stage, you could see his little legs shaking with nervous energy as he struggled to raise his head and face the audience. But when the song played and the microphone took effect, so did young Ngo! “Puff The Magic Dragon” was the song, and never has it sounded better as Peter blew the crowd away with his strong, flawless notes. The passion in which he sung the song created quite a stir in the audience as the female members….and some male, shed several tears at the immense talent that they were witnessing. When the final note was sung a raucous cheer was heard in Gordon as the Don Brown Hall was transformed to the Peter Ngo Hall.

Needless to say, when the dust settled and the tears were wiped clear, young Peter Ngo was crowned Talent Quest Champion for 2014. The Runner-Up was a much harder decision with a pool of such great talent, but James Francis was named Runner-Up after his stirring piano performance without any music to guide him. So ends an incredible day of performances, laughs, cheers and tears. We hope we can get a full house for next years’ performances which I am sure will set a new benchmark in prodigious talent.

Mr Mark Caulfield – Head Talent Quest Judge

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