by Denny Mai

Bright lights surround you. Eyes are closed. Deep breaths are taken. The nervousness of being stared at and the anxiousness to calm down is overwhelming. Your heart beats at a pace faster than normal. Uncontrolled shaking takes over yet paralysis renders you unable to stop it. Standing still, or as still as you can possibly get, you wait and wait and wait as seconds seems like hours; wanting to have more time to prepare yet impatient to get it over with. Finally, you hear it – the musical intro to your song. Eyes are opened. Deep breaths are still being taken. You stare straight out and as you open your lips, the harmonic voice that you let out seems to flow and blend with the harmonic music you hear, and it begins.

Once again this past fall, CASB graced us with the talented voices of Stony Brook students. As we sat down holding onto our sweet egg custards and sipping juice from box drinks, we listened in awe and envy at the musically talented kids we have here.

It was that time again when CASB hosts its annual singing contest. Like last year, the centerpiece décors were creatively set up, filled with potpourri scented with the autumn season. That seems to have been the theme of this year’s singing contest as the autumn hues of orange, red, and yellow covered the tables. Bowls of potpourri laid atop, encircled by the scattering of colorful leaves. Balloons of red, orange and yellow filled the stage, playfully bouncing around and staying afloat for a brief couple of seconds before they hit the floor only to bounce back up again. And all the while, their different shades gleam around the SAC Auditorium as they’re reflected off by the surrounding stage and spotlights creating a festive fall atmosphere.  

Students came from all over campus to audition. Twelve made it to the contestant level. Three will win prizes but only one would stand alone to be the first place winner of this year’s CASB Singing Contest 2007. Annie Shek, Christina Shen-Bryan Deguzman pair, Flora Huang, Jing Li, Jennifer Olegario, Judy Seng, Katie Lai-Ah Choi pair, Nan Zhang, Qu Zhong, Sylvia Crispino, Winnie So, and Xiaosu Liu were the chosen twelve. They took the stage to sing their hearts out. Some sang with a passion that seized control of the room, others let the taunting stage fright seize control of them. As each one took the stage, some did it with confidence while some did it with uneasiness as was shown in their singing. But even with the most nervous, to have a voice like theirs would be completely desirable.

The CASB Singing Contest was not limited to just Chinese songs as we heard songs that were American, Chinese, and even Japanese! As each of the twelve sang a decision to decide the six finalists was underway. As time was taken to make that decision, there was an intermission and we heard more of Stony Brook’s musical talent – in both instrumental and vocal. After making their début in China Night 2007, the CASB Band had their second performance and took the stage to sing Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning”. After hearing their performance and enjoying the egg custards, the decision was finally been made. Congratulations went to the six finalists – Sylvia Crispino, Flora Huang, Jing Li, Xiaosu Liu, Judy Seng, and Nan Zhang!

The music started again as we resumed the second half of the contest to decide which of those six would take third, second, and first place. There was a nice variety of songs in different languages, but there seemed to be a common interest by the contestants to sing love songs. With such powerful voices and emotional songs mixed together, it made the passion to win that much stronger. The ones who succeeded in that the most were Xiaosu Liu who came in third place, Nan Zhang in second place, and Sylvia Crispino in first place. Syliva powerfully sang Alicia Keys’ “No One” to advance to the final and to took the “First Place” title with Utada Hikaru’s “Final Distance.”

Congratulations to everyone who made it. This year’s singing contest was one of the best that I’ve seen and I’m looking forward to hearing more next year.