By Meera Gharat

Co-Editor

The Prowler

Bridgewater-Raritan’s 10th Annual Sing-Off was held on June 9, 2023, in the high school auditorium. 

Nine pieces were performed by high school students. Three judges presided over the competition: Lisa Coppola, a chart-topping singer; Marna Seltzer, the Artistic and Administrative Director of Princeton University Concerts; and Gabriel Crouch, Director of Choirs at Princeton University and Grammy nominee. 

The Sing-Off is held in honor of Kimberly A. Nelson, a past BRHS student. The Kimberly A. Nelson Foundation supports choir and musical theater programs at BRHS through scholarships.

 First, second, and third place winners of the Sing-Off were awarded scholarships.

Sharon Lawton organizes the annual event for the Bridgewater-Raritan community. She has been helping out with the Sing-Off since it started. 

She said, “I love seeing the students perform—I’m always amazed at the talent! I love seeing alumni in the audience. I also have an amazing group of volunteers who make the job really fun.”

For her, the 10th Sing-Off is special because she was not sure if the event would be able to continue after the pandemic. The performances and turn-out at this event reassured her, and she is looking forward to another 10 in the future.

The nine judged pieces were performed by Joshua Zagare, Sanjana Thayi, Rebecca Puszkin, Lila Dettelback, Prisha Gudimella, Ezra Brotschul and Agastya Shahane, Lulu Peralta Gamarra, Derek Boxer, and Fallon Billy.

 Three non-judged acts were performed at the end by David Fernandes, Avanti Patwardhan and a group performance by Janet Beshai, Christina Carelli, Kim Cook, David Fernandes, Justin McBurney.

 The first-place award for the Sing-Off went to sophomore Lulu Peralta Gamarra, for her performance of “No Me Queda Más”, written by Ricky Vela.

In second place was senior Fallon Billy, who sang “At Last”, written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren. 

The third-place finisher was senior Lila Dettelback, who performed “Beau Soir” by Claude Debussy.

The winner, Lula, said her accomplishment was “very shocking” and that she “genuinely thought there was no way [she] was going to win”. When asked how she felt about the performance, she said that, although she had a sore throat and was not able to perform her best, “it made [her] happy that [she] was able to make all of [her] friends and family proud.”

She also said that she has a deep connection with the song she chose and was happy that she won first place with it. 

She told The Prowler, “I will continue performing for my Paraguayan friends and family, and I hope to achieve my dream of having a music career. I dream of being able to connect everyone around the world through my music, and I also hope I’m able to inspire people and be their comfort in some way.”