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About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2011)
From high school hallways to the Grammys C lara A ltemus ______________ From performing at the 600 seat WLHS auditorium to the 20,000 seat Staples Center Stage for the Grammy broadcast on years ago. After sending in a YouTube video audition, she was accepted during Thanksgiving break. "I was go-carting with friends when they called. Photo courtesy of Emma Davis Davis meets with Esperanza Spalding before the Awards show. S p a ld in g , o r ig in a lly fro m P o rtla n d , w a s a w a rd e d 'B e s t N e w A rtis t' of 2011. national television. Emma Davis, senior, was one of three high school students chosen to sing at the prestigious awards ceremony. Davis had been introduced to the Grammy world after watching her sister perform there two I jumped up and down," Davis said. "They didn't want me to tell anyone for press issues, but I told my friends anyway." "We rehearsed for three days and then started playing gigs around town," Davis said. The Grammy Choir, which consisted of eight students from around the country, was scheduled to perform many times proceeding the awards ceremony, including at Grammy in the Schools live and as back-up to Sara Bareilles. "They paid for everything," Davis added of the all-expenses paid trip that included her hotel, meals and time around town. The real experience came on her fourth day after arriving, when she found a whole new challenge. "I jumped up and down and screamed," Davis said of her reaction to being told that she was being asked to sing on the Grammy Telecast. "It's pretty surreal practicing on the Staples Center Stage." Two other students from the choir were asked to perform with Esperanza Spalding, a Portland singer awarded 'Best New Artist'. "Surreal is a good way to describe it," Davis said when the break was close to the end, they made everyone clap."It wasn't scary," Davis said, adding "I forgot I was on live television." As well as having an opportunity of a lifetime, Davis was able to meet many famous artists including Cee Lo Green and Janelle Monae, singers, and Seth Rogen, actor. "Everyone is great, and classical voice lessons with a voice teacher, but wasn't serious about it until she was cast to play Maria in "The Sound of Music". Ever since then she's been more involved in musical theater, competitions and other singing events. On top of singing, Davis is one of the leading musicians in band, according to Kevin Egan, band teacher. "She works o f p e rfo rm in g . B e fo re th e y w e n t o n , D a v is a n d th e tw o th e y are so m e o f th e n ic e s t p e o p le I ’v e m e t," D a v is h a rd e r th a n a n y b o d y e lse ," h e sa id . "S h e is an others were lead under the stage to wait for their cue. "We watched monitors to show us what was going on," she said. When the commercial break hit, the group was showed onto the stage. They counted down and said, "We all share the common love for music and jazz, so it's great to be able to share this amazing experience with wonderful people." Davis first began singing four years ago when she started taking private incredible and dedicated musician and one to excel." With her experience at the Grammys over, Davis plans to continue her singing career through college as well as continuing to focus on her academics. Photo courtesy of Emma Davis Emma Davis, senior, stands with fellow members of the Grammy Jazz Choir. The choir performed at many venues preceding the awards show, including Grammy in the Schools Live and as back-up to Sara Bareilles. Young scientists advance past regional competition continued from page 1 She also won the Award for Excellence in Scientific Research in Environmental Health. "It's nice to feel like people care about and appreciate all the hard work the project took," Bernert said. "When I found out I was advancing, I was really excited and motivated to begin more experiments and improve my presentation board. I'm looking forward to meeting other kids from all over the world (at ISEF) and learning about the other projects. I'm excited to see if there are other endophyte projects." Chang's project on investigating Acyl- homoserine Lactone based quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm development took first place in his category, Microbiology, and also received the In Vitro Biology Award and a scholarship for $2,000 a year to Oregon State University. "It was an honor to be selected to present at ISEF," Chang said. "I went last year as an observer and dreamed of going there as a finalist." Traveling with the pair will be Adrianna Horsey, freshman, who placed first in Behavioral Science: Social Psychology and Sociology. She will be there as an observer. "All of the winners this year have gone to ISEF to observe before," Horsey said. "This will allow me to see what it's like. I'm excited to see what is there, not just from the US, but from other countries as well." Advancing to the International Sustainability World Project Olympiad in Houston, Texas from May 4 to May 9 is James Siderius, junior. His project, a sustainable cyclical energy harvesting concept for ocean sensing, placed first in the Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics Category. Siderius also received NOAA's Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award, Most Creative Project Idea from CREST and the Multi- Disciplinary Research Award. "When I qualified for the International Sustainability Olympiad I was quite thrilled,” Sidierius said. "My project fits the fair categories so perfectly, so I think I will get some valid suggestions for how to improve the chemical and engineering aspects of a future product." Awards Best of Fair Ann Bernert (Life and Environmental Sciences) Spencer Chang (Microbiology) Most Outstanding Sustainability Award James Siderius (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) Fantasy author Ursula Le Guin visits West Linn Library C hrisamn K im With a m ind-blow ing number of 20 novels and nu merous short stories, 81-year- old author Ursula K. Le Guin is infamous for her many great fantasy and science- fiction novels. On March 16, West Linn hosted a rare, extraordinary visit from Le Guin herself at the West Linn Public Library at 6:30 p.m. Le Guin has been a suc cessful author of children's novels, fantasy, science fiction novels and many collections of essays. Le Guin's well known series, "Books of Earthsea" has sold millions of copies in America and England. The Earthsea chronology consists of 12 books in total. Each novel in the series received an award. The first book, "A Wizard of Earthsea" was translated into 15 separate languages. In 2005, "Books of Earthsea" was adapted into an animated film called "Tales from Earthsea" by film director Hayao Miyazaki. Le Guin arrived with sev eral hosts with livelihood and excitement. The seated crowd went from approximately 15 at the beginning of her arrival to at least 30 moments after Le Guin arrived. The crowd was comprised of both middle school and high school stu dents as well as adults. For at least 30 minutes, Le Guin read the first two chapters of her famous novel, "A Wizard of Earthsea." She was a fabulous storyteller. Between paragraphs, she explained the history behind the character's name and the making of the story. continued on page 6
