This article is from page 31 of the 2010-01-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
BEN Escorcio is going for all Ire- land glory, having already won West Clare’s Got Talent and numerous other competitions in his young life.
He will showcase his singing abil- ity this Sunday evening on the popu- lar RTE television competition, The All Ireland Talent Show.
The teen will not only represent Clare but the whole of Munster when he does battle for judge John Cree- don’s team.
The second-year student in St Flan- nan’s College, Ennis, has not revealed the song he will sing in an effort to
make it to the semi-final, but he is hoping the people of his new home in Milltown Malbay, Clare and Munster will like it.
Born in London, Ben moved to Australia with his parents Sandy and Leo, and his brothers when he was young. He went to school there- and was educated before the family moved to Ireland and settled in Mil- town Malbay.
Ben is no stranger to performing, competition or even television. Last year he won not only the local com- petition West Clare’s Got Talent, but also made it to the final of RTE 1’s ‘Jam the Musical’.
While living in Melbourne, he was part of the largest dramatic society in the city. As well as playing a main role in ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Oliver’, he also had a part especially written into “The Pirates of Penzance’, and won the Guild of Victoria.
On moving to Clare, he continued to work on his singing. Just months in the county, he joined Clare’s famed Lismorahaun singers, and took up singing lessons with the choir’s founder, Archie Simpson.
Then a few short weeks ago, the talented teen auditioned for the All Ireland Talent Show in Cork. On the first day of auditions, John Creeden
put Ben through to his final 16.
“Tt was brilliant. When John said I was through, I could have run and shrieked with joy. Luckily I remem- bered I was on camera,” he laughed.
On day two of the auditions, the judges had to narrow down their se- lection to just eight acts and Ben was once again called up.
‘As soon as we got back home, we began brainstorming for song ideas, with only a few weeks to prepare,” he said.