Superstars down to 11

American Idol came to Pitt in the form of Campus Superstar 2008 last night.

Twenty-nine… American Idol came to Pitt in the form of Campus Superstar 2008 last night.

Twenty-nine local college soloists performed in the competition’s semi-finals in the William Pitt Union assembly room.

Seven of them – Eric Burnett, Adam Leone, Micah Burket, Camiele White, Megan Novak, Samantha Meese and Amy Kuntz – were Pitt students.

The other semi-finalists included 14 students from Carnegie Mellon University, six Point Park University students and two Duquesne University students.

The Campus Superstar competition benefits the Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh.

The winner will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship at the competition’s final round in April.

Chosen from more than 130 contestants at the four universities in preliminary competitions held last fall, the 11 semi-finalists were selected last night.

The finalists included Burket of Pitt, Zak Resnick, Ryan Townsend, Tim Ruff, Kyle Beltran, Jennifer Cherest, Nisha Asnani and Loralee Gayer of CMU, Bryan Matechen and Khrista White of Point Park and Andrea Festa of Duquesne.

Judges included local celebrities such as Pittsburgh jazz singer Etta Cox, WPTT radio host Lynn Cullen, KDKA news anchor Ken Rice and actor Richard Rauh.

Burket, the sole Pitt student moving onto the final round, is a senior biology major. She sang “All That Jazz” from the musical “Chicago.”

“The CMU students are very, very talented,” she said, surprised at the positive response she received from the judges. “They are all theatre majors and better than me. I mean, they have to be because they sing more than I do.”

Burket hasn’t gotten the chance to sing very often since starting college, but she was a member of the chorus and participated in her high school theater productions.

Her grandmother was a professional jazz singer, so Burket grew up singing jazz. She only has one year of singing lessons under her belt.

Entering the contest on a spur of the moment decision-she found out about the competition just days before the auditions-Burket said she is happy with how far she has come.

“The next stage is based on audience votes, and I’m not sure how I’m going to get support,” Burket said. “I need people to come out and support me.”

About 1,000 community members and students attended last year’s competition, where Nick Cosgrove, a CMU freshman, was awarded the $5,000 first prize after audience voting.

Professor Barbara S. Burstin was honored at the event for her contributions to the Jewish and Pittsburgh communities.

Burstin served as president of the Hillel Jewish University Center from 1995 to 1998. She has been a professor of the Jewish-American Experience and the Holocaust at Pitt and CMU for more than 20 years.

Campus Superstar’s final event will be held on April 6 at Carnegie Music Hall at 7 p.m.