10 Singers, 2 Bands from New England Selected as 'Community Auditions' Finalists

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Verizon) - Ten singers and two vocal groups from New England will compete for the Community Auditions 2009 Grand Championship to be held Sunday (Dec. 6) at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino. The event is sponsored by Verizon. The 12 finalists have already wowed the judges with their vocal talents at several Community Auditions performances throughout the past year and competed with many contestants to make it to the finals.

The finalists are: Tara Canaday of Braintree, Mass.; Branden "Just B" Wilson of Hamden, Conn.; Daniel Taylor of Farmington, Maine; Megan Harney of Mansfield, Mass.; Liv Gaines of Enfield, Conn.; Briana Chaponis of Jefferson, Mass.; Michael Firicano of East Boston, Mass.; Lisa Bello of Boston; Louie Bello of Hyde Park, Mass.; Donna Lee-De Prille of Westfield, Mass.; the band Red Summer Sun, featuring Andrew Gregory, Nick Mathews and Pete Hunt, all of Topsfield, Mass., and Adam Fisher of Boxford, Mass.; and the band One Step Away, featuring Adam Carrington and Mike Nuzzolo of Andover, Mass.; Terence Healy of Wilmington, Mass.; and Alex Kwmuntis of Peabody, Mass.

Sunday's Grand Championship event is open to the public and will be videotaped and aired on Community Auditions shows throughout January.

The Grand Champion will be announced on a Community Auditions show in late January. The shows are aired on Verizon's FiOS TV network on FiOS1 Local Zone On Demand. The Grand Champion will win a recording contract and a new car.

Also on Sunday, the public is invited to Open Auditions for the 2010 season of Community Auditions. A number of New England TV and radio personalities, and well-known musicians and comedians, will be on hand at the event.

Videos and photos of the finalists and details of the open auditions can be found at www.communityauditions.com.

FiOS TV is delivered on Verizon's 100 percent fiber network, the only network that brings fiber all the way to a customer's home. FiOS TV offers a broad collection of programming, with more than 600 all-digital channels, including more than 126 HD channels, and more than 18,000 monthly VOD titles in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. FiOS provides next-generation interactive services including an advanced interactive media guide; social TV, news and entertainment widgets; remote DVR management; multi-room DVR, and more.