Post by kcuteus1 on Jul 30, 2005 14:55:53 GMT
Here is a aritce I found.
tinyurl.com/dg5ez (edit - fixed!)
Holly Holyoake heads for Hollywood Jul 30 2005
Karen Price, Western Mail
A WELSH teenager picked from obscurity has the chance to make a name for herself in Hollywood.
And with a name like Holly Holyoake, it should be plain sailing for her.
The 17-year-old from Newport will be representing the UK in the World Championships of Performing Arts.
The teenager, whose career highlight so far is being invited to sing on stage with classical music star Hayley Westenra, flies to Hollywood on Thursday.
"I can't wait," said Holly. "It's worth going just for the experience, but I love to think that I might come back with a trophy.
"I think it's really exciting to be part of something this big - it makes you step up your game.
"I hope to gain lots more experience and a bit more confidence and inspiration."
Holly's portfolio was impressive enough to beat competition from around 35,000 other applications worldwide and secure her a place in the auditions.
She will be competing in six categories - opera, musical, pop, classical, world music and song of her own.
She will sing 90 seconds of one song in each category and her own song in full.
"Obviously I don't want to disappoint my country but I try not to think too much about it," said Holly.
"I'm there to do my best and have some fun and I'm really looking forward to it.
"I've always wanted to be a singer and this is a big chance to show people what I can do."
Holly is not sure what she is going to sing as her own song yet, but whatever she decides on she should have plenty to choose from - Holly released her first album, When Dreams Have Wings, when she was just 11 years old.
"It will probably be a classical opera song because that's something I really like doing and something I want to do more of in the future.
"I just love the fact that it's different and that there aren't a lot of youngsters doing it.
"I don't plan on turning to pop just because it is more popular. I like to do something unique."
Until now Holly has done mostly charity work and performed with male voice choirs. But she has her eyes set on things higher up the ladder.
She is taking as many singing lessons as she can and is already well into learning to play the piano. Eventually she would like to study music at university.
"All the singing I've done until now has given me a good grounding and I'm grateful for that. I want to take my singing all the way.
"I think it's hard to say a lot about the future because you never know what might happen, but I would like to do another album quite soon. Other than that I don't really know - but I'm prepared for a lot of hard work.
"The most important thing is that I can continue to do what I love so much - singing. I really look forward to what lies ahead."
Plucked from obscurity
HOLLY HOLYOAKE was once plucked from a theatre audience to sing a duet with one of the world's biggest classical music stars.
She sang Ave Maria with Hayley Westenra at the North Wales Theatre in Llandudno last November.
Holly is a member of the star's international fan club and first met her when she was in concert at St David's Hall in Cardiff in 2003.
The pair met again when Holly asked to perform a duet with Ms Westenra in the foyer of St David's Hall, when the star was signing copies of her album Pure.
Ms Westenra obliged and when she spotted Holly in the audience the pair resumed their partnership.
Holly said, "I was thrilled to perform with Hayley.
"She's an inspiration to me and to stand on the same stage as your idol and perform a duet is a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime experience."
tinyurl.com/dg5ez (edit - fixed!)
Holly Holyoake heads for Hollywood Jul 30 2005
Karen Price, Western Mail
A WELSH teenager picked from obscurity has the chance to make a name for herself in Hollywood.
And with a name like Holly Holyoake, it should be plain sailing for her.
The 17-year-old from Newport will be representing the UK in the World Championships of Performing Arts.
The teenager, whose career highlight so far is being invited to sing on stage with classical music star Hayley Westenra, flies to Hollywood on Thursday.
"I can't wait," said Holly. "It's worth going just for the experience, but I love to think that I might come back with a trophy.
"I think it's really exciting to be part of something this big - it makes you step up your game.
"I hope to gain lots more experience and a bit more confidence and inspiration."
Holly's portfolio was impressive enough to beat competition from around 35,000 other applications worldwide and secure her a place in the auditions.
She will be competing in six categories - opera, musical, pop, classical, world music and song of her own.
She will sing 90 seconds of one song in each category and her own song in full.
"Obviously I don't want to disappoint my country but I try not to think too much about it," said Holly.
"I'm there to do my best and have some fun and I'm really looking forward to it.
"I've always wanted to be a singer and this is a big chance to show people what I can do."
Holly is not sure what she is going to sing as her own song yet, but whatever she decides on she should have plenty to choose from - Holly released her first album, When Dreams Have Wings, when she was just 11 years old.
"It will probably be a classical opera song because that's something I really like doing and something I want to do more of in the future.
"I just love the fact that it's different and that there aren't a lot of youngsters doing it.
"I don't plan on turning to pop just because it is more popular. I like to do something unique."
Until now Holly has done mostly charity work and performed with male voice choirs. But she has her eyes set on things higher up the ladder.
She is taking as many singing lessons as she can and is already well into learning to play the piano. Eventually she would like to study music at university.
"All the singing I've done until now has given me a good grounding and I'm grateful for that. I want to take my singing all the way.
"I think it's hard to say a lot about the future because you never know what might happen, but I would like to do another album quite soon. Other than that I don't really know - but I'm prepared for a lot of hard work.
"The most important thing is that I can continue to do what I love so much - singing. I really look forward to what lies ahead."
Plucked from obscurity
HOLLY HOLYOAKE was once plucked from a theatre audience to sing a duet with one of the world's biggest classical music stars.
She sang Ave Maria with Hayley Westenra at the North Wales Theatre in Llandudno last November.
Holly is a member of the star's international fan club and first met her when she was in concert at St David's Hall in Cardiff in 2003.
The pair met again when Holly asked to perform a duet with Ms Westenra in the foyer of St David's Hall, when the star was signing copies of her album Pure.
Ms Westenra obliged and when she spotted Holly in the audience the pair resumed their partnership.
Holly said, "I was thrilled to perform with Hayley.
"She's an inspiration to me and to stand on the same stage as your idol and perform a duet is a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime experience."
