Nikini De Fonseka, Mitchell Knott and Maddison Szymanski from Holsworthy High School were awarded the top prize in Council’s 2021 Liverpool Young Achiever ‘Turn it Up’ Awards with their performance of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer.
Liverpool City Council is delighted to announce the winners of its 2021 Liverpool Young Achievers ‘Turn it Up’ Awards, with Holsworthy High School students Nikini De Fonseka, Mitchell Knott and Maddison Szymanski taking out the top award with their performance of Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.
St Therese Catholic Primary School was awarded the primary school accolade for their Djembe drum performance. Meanwhile, Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School Carnes Hill received two commendations in the non-major prize category for an individual performance cover of Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Rainbow’ and a choreographed group dance performance to ‘Think Twice’ originally performed by Adam Trigger.
Mayor of Liverpool Wendy Waller said it was wonderful to see young people getting involved in this fantastic performance showcase.
“The Liverpool Young Achievers Awards Program was established in 2019 to provide an opportunity to acknowledge accomplishments of local primary and high school students who have excelled in a chosen field, and to provide a one-off financial support to enable the students to continue pursuing their passion,” Mayor Waller said.
“This year the program understandably received a lower number of entries due to the impact of COVID-19 and its ripples across our community. We look forward to hosting the Awards in the coming years without the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.
“Council believes strongly in the benefits that art, music and performance programs provide for our community, and elected to run the Awards Program via video submissions as a positive diversion and activity for students during these challenging times.
“This fantastic initiative will enable the winning schools to purchase additional musical instruments and equipment, providing further opportunity for the students to continue to develop their skillset.
“I congratulate all the participants for their outstanding and unique performances. It is fantastic to see so many talented young people showcasing their talent and bringing some joy in these difficult times.”
The following schools are the winners of the 2021 Liverpool Young Achievers ‘Turn it Up’ Awards:
High School Performance Winner ($1,000) – Holsworthy High School Band Performance
Primary School Performance Winner ($500) – St Therese Catholic Primary School Group Performance
Non-Major Prize Selection
Highly Commended ($200) – Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School Carnes Hill
The Liverpool Young Achievers Award aims to engage and motivate local schools to creatively recognise and support homegrown artistic talent, with a specific focus on Artistic Endeavours.
This round was labelled and promoted as ‘Turn It Up’ and invited schools to supply a video submission of their nominated student(s) through Council’s online grant platform. Schools were encouraged to apply on behalf of students performing either as an individual, as part of a band, or as a group
