SILER CITY, N.C. — Seven local students — a soloist, duet and four-member band — took top prizes last night in “Sing and Play ’25,” the seventh-annual student music competition at Jordan-Matthews High School. From auditions through the showcase concert, the event is designed as an educational experience for young musicians and a fun benefit concert for JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation.

Audience members voted Madilyn Brown of Bonlee School as best performance in the elementary division for her vocal rendition of “Mean,” a song by Taylor Swift.

Avery Jenkins and Craven Smithwick of Margaret B. Pollard Middle finished on top of the middle school competition with their vocal performance of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better),” a song by Irving Berlin from the musical, “Annie Get Your Gun.”

And in the high school competition, Street Mob of Jordan-Matthews High School took the prize for singing “Mi Vicio,” a song by Eslabon Armado and T3R Elemento. Members of the band were Alexander Hernandez Rivas, Ciro Garcia, Emanuel Nolasco Bautista and Gianni Ocelot.

The winner in each of the three divisions received a $50 prize.

Rose Pate, president of JMArts, said there were four more acts than in last year’s show with musicians representing 10 different schools. “Student interest for ‘Sing and Play’ keeps growing,” she said. “And they keep coming back! We now have student musicians who have competed over several years in all three age divisions!”

All money raised by the competition is used by JMArts to expand opportunity for high school artists. That includes JMArts Scholars, the nonprofit’s flagship initiative that allows high school actors, dancers, musicians and visual artists to study over the summer — usually at weeklong, residential workshops on university campuses. Since being launched in 2012, JMArts Scholars program has awarded 101 scholarships to 70 students.

Musicians from Chatham County and across the state were eligible for “Sing and Play.” Contestants in the showcase concert were selected during open auditions by judges Greg Burriss, Matt Fry and Sandra Gisel Lopez, the Sing and Play ’24 high school champion who also performed as guest artist at this year's showcase concert.

Pate expects “Sing and Play” to return next year with registration for auditions opening sometime around December 1. JMArts is already looking at possible dates for next year’s competition, which is likely to be held once again in mid- to late-February.

More information about “Sing and Play” and other arts events scheduled this season is available at jmarts.org. Photos from this year's showcase concert will be available online at facebook.com/JMHSArts.

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