The Student Newspaper of Oxford Academy

The Gamut

The Gamut

The Gamut

Talents from singers to slime connoisseurs

Peoples+Pick%3A+Senior+Kristela+Avendano+delivers+a+stunningly+heartwarming+performance+of+Rusty+Clantons+Novels.+%28Photo+by+Claire+Jung%29
Claire Jung
People’s Pick: Senior Kristela Avendano delivers a stunningly heartwarming performance of Rusty Clanton’s “Novels.” (Photo by Claire Jung)

Oxford’s annual talent show made its grand return on Oct. 21, featuring a spirited lineup of traditional acts like singing, instrument playing, and dancing, along with more abstract performances. 

Talent show winners were separated into two categories: audience’s choice and judges’ choice. The audience’s choice was determined by the amount of money donated to a specific act during the final intermission, whereas the three judges’ choice winners were chosen by a panel of high school ASB members. 

Seniors Natalie Prim and Grace Liu placed third for the judge’s choice. The duo concocted a slime creation while singing and dancing in huge, puffy animal blow-up suits. Prim performed a silly self-written song while making slime on stage, accompanied by Liu’s bright ukulele playing and soft harmonies. 

Oxford’s South Asian cultural club, AASHA, was the second judge’s choice winner, represented by their dance team. Performing a self-choreographed mix of Bollywood fusion songs, including the popular “Gallan Goodiyan,” in colorful sharara dresses, AASHA provided an excellent showcase of South Asian music through captivating formation changes, lively moves, and group synchronization.

Seventh-grader Cassandra Lauretta took home the grand prize as the judges’ choice first-place winner with her operatic rendition of the Italian song “Con Te Partirò,” originally performed by Andrea Bocelli. Her solo occurred after the first intermission of the show, welcoming the crowd back from the ten-minute break with agile vocal runs and a stunningly emotional falsetto.

The sole audience’s choice winner, Kristela Avendano, opened the talent show with an acoustic performance of Rusty Clanton’s “Novels.” Her performance, boasting impressive vocals backed by the warmth of her guitar, stole the hearts of the audience and earned her place as people’s pick. 

The passion and talent within Oxford’s populace made for another entertaining show that certainly rocked the crowd. 

“Not everything about the [show] was perfect, but everything came together nonetheless and I’m grateful that it happened the way it did,” said Avendano. 

About the Contributors
Haley Nguyen, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Haley Nguyen is a M.I.D. (majestic, intelligent, and delicious) junior and is going into her third year of Gamut. For this 2023-2024 school year, she will be Gamut’s A&E editor as “it’s more interesting than the other sections” and is looking forward to getting to know the new additions to the Gamut family. Haley is also involved in Key Club and VSA (Vietnamese Student Association), which she danced for at the annual International Show. Aside from school, she is super big on typology such as MBTI and is an ENFP, a Word Hunt Fiend, and a chronic afterschool napper. Her prized possession is her light blue HydroFlask, which you might see her carrying around. Although it’s dented, can’t stand up straight, has a hole at the bottom, and more, she treasures it as it’s been with her through thick and thin since seventh grade.
Rachel Yoon, Opinion Editor
Joining during the quarantine year after encouragement from her English teacher, Rachel Yoon, a junior at Oxford Academy, is currently in her third year as a Gamut staff member. Skilled in both the arts and writing, she has both written and illustrated for the Gamut before. Rachel likes to paint and draw as a hobby but finds that writing is an easier way to put down her thoughts. She also has an interest in math, recently starting a math blog in hopes of helping others in the subject. With a strained relationship with the app TikTok—deleting it and redownloading it multiple times due to concerning screentime—she watches many cooking videos. As such, Rachel is an avid cook who cooks for herself and her family, following internet-famous cooks like Doobydobap and Cafehailee for inspiration. Despite this, Rachel is a baking hater, finding it a stressful medium compared to cooking’s forgiveness; cooking is a way to keep her focused and productive. Multi-talented and well-rounded, Rachel is serving as this year’s opinion editor!
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Talents from singers to slime connoisseurs