Sistema NB Student makes finals in Caribbean talent show

Amalia De Los Santos, a 13-year-old music student from Moncton. has 
made it to the finals of Dominicana's Got Talent.  Photo: Submitted

Times & Transcript -- January 8, 2021 -- Alan Cochrane

A 13-year~01d music student from Moncton has made it to the finals of Dominicana's Got Talent, a Spanish-
language version of the popular TV show created by Simon Cowell. 

See Amalia's performance on YouTube

In a video posted Wednesday to the contest's Facebook page and YouTube, Amalia De Los Santos performed a French interpretation of the song "Ie Vole." The song is about a girl leaving the nest to begin her own life. She sang the song with piano accompaniment, then reached down to grab her trumpet and continued to play the song's melody in a solo without missing a beat" receiving applause and cheers from the judges. 

Amalia was asked to perform" an encore and then received the second-to-last Golden Buzzer of Season Two. The Golden Buzzer means participants go directly into the finals, bypassing subsequent competition rounds. When the host hits the button, the contestant is showered with confetti. 

"She crushed it," said Ken MacLeod, CEO of the  New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. "She was on the big stage, got the golden buzzer and confetti from the sky, propelling her directly to the finals." 

MacLeod said Amalia moved to New Brunswick with her family from the Dominican Republic a few years ago and became part of the Sistema program, which provides musical education to young students around the province. MacLeod said she got her first trumpet when she was nine, and progressed to a spot in the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. 

"Overcoming challenges is a big part of Amalia's story, not the least of which was qualifying to compete, travelling safely during a global pandemic with the many quarantine requirements) and much more," MacLeod said.