The 24-year-old Summerside native had many in attendance standing on their feet following her operatic performance in the finals of the three-day competition.
“I can’t even believe it,” Cantin said. “My mom really had to talk me into it. We really don’t have a lot of classical music right here in Summerside. So I wasn’t sure, I wasn’t sure how the town was going to react to it. I didn’t know what the people were going to want. I didn’t know what the judges were going to want and I felt really out of my element. I haven’t been nervous like this in a long time. I’m so thrilled that the people in Summerside were willing to listen and they enjoyed it. It’s incredible.
“I think we don’t give the people of Summerside enough credit,” she said of the overwhelming response to the operatic pieces.
Cantin started singing when she was 12 years old, taking lessons and performing in jazz bands. She then decided to pursue it in university beginning at UPEI then at the University of Alberta where she completed her undergraduate work.
Cantin just completed her Masters degree at the University of Western Ontario and heads to McGill in the fall.
“I’m going onto my seventh year of school in the fall and it’s going to continue from there,” she said. “It’s a lifelong journey.”
Of the 14 acts Saturday night, three advanced to the final. Second place went to Josee Caron while DanaLee Lynch took third spot.
The final three offered a wide range of choices for the judges illustrating the wide diversity of music available on the Island. On one end there was Cantin’s operatic pieces and on the other Caron’s Jimi Hendrix style electric guitar solos while Lynch performed today’s contemporary music.
“It was nothing like I’ve ever seen in Summerside before,” Cantin said of the other competitors. “It was amazing.”
Cantin took home the $1,000 first prize, Caron $500 and Lynch $250. Hailey MacIsaac was named most promising performer and was awarded $100.
Caron was awarded the opportunity to take part in the P.E.I. Youth talent Search for her placement. That category is open to performers between the ages of 13 and 21.
Talent Showcase organizer Tina Mundy, president of the 2010 Summerside Lobster carnival, said Saturday night’s turnout exceed everyone’s expectations.
“I’m speechless,” Mundy said. “For once in my life I’m totally speechless. I was shocked and awed because this was just amazing. We would have been happy if we had 700 here tonight and to double it and more and to be able to produce such talent – to have such a wide range of talent was incredible.”
