August 30—Northwestern senior Shawn Fletcher, a vocal performance major, won first place in the Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest, Open Division semi-finals on Saturday, August 27. Fletcher performed “Run Away with Me” from a new musical, The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown (after having an emergency appendectomy at 1 a.m. that same day!).

He will perform in the Talent Competition Finals at the State Fair Grandstand on Sunday, September 4 at 8 p.m., with nine other finalists in the Open Division, five in the Teen division, and five in the Preteen Division.

Admission to the Grandstand is free, and winners will be announced immediately after the performances, followed by fireworks.

For more information about the music program at Northwestern, visit nwc.edu/music.