Arts & Entertainment

Syosset Student Gears Up for Reach for the Stars Competition

Ashley Kaufman, a MacArthur HS and Long Island School for the Arts student, is among 25 finalists for annual Nassau County contest.

Ashley Kaufman of Wantagh has always had a love for singing and this weekend the MacArthur High School student will get a chance to perform in front of a prestigious panel of judges while attempting to bring home the crown for having the best young pipes in Nassau County.

Kaufman, who turns 17 next month, is one of 25 teens from a pool of 64 contestants selected as finalists to perform in Nassau County’s Reach for the Stars Contest this Saturday night at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. Two previous winners from Reach for the Stars competitions moved on to American Idol fame including Merrick’s Robbie Rosen in 2009 and Levittown’s Kevin Covais in 2003.

“I’m very excited for it,” said Kaufman, who has performed in previous Singing for the Stars competitions. “All the competitors are really good and it is just fun to perform with them and meet them.”

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Some of the talent Kaufman will be sharing the stage with Saturday are also from Wantagh including Patricia Torrales, Christina Tramantana and Justine Re.

Kaufman mixes her love for music with academics spending half of her school days at the in Syosset. At MacArthur, the soon-to-be high school senior performs often in musicals. Kaufman has also often taken part in the American Idol Experience in Hollywood Studios Disney World where contestants audition and get treated just like they would in the actual Fox show.

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During her more than a decade of signing, Kaufman has developed a comfort for performing in front of large audiences. The MacArthur High School student is hoping to utilize the confidence she has built up from music to pursue a career in broadcast journalism when attending college next year.

Kaufman most enjoys singing songs from Broadway musicals and she plans to pursue this passion at Saturday’s competition. Kaufman and the other vocalists will be judged by panel of judges that includes professionals in the music and entertainment industry.

The 2011 Nassau County Reach for the Stars gets underway at 7 p.m. in the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre stage, which is located near parking fields 6 and 6A inside Eisenhower Park.


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