Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry would like to announce open auditions for the Junior Pro program. Auditions will be at the Mountain Arts Center on Saturday March 4, from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Vocalists and instrumentalists will be welcomed. Students ranging from Kindergarten through the 12th grade for the fall semester of 2017 are eligible. Vocalists will need to be prepared to sing a verse and the chorus of “My Old Kentucky Home” and a song of their choice. Instrumentalists need to have a song of their choice and chord charts or tablature for the judges to follow along. All students need to bring a photo and a short bio with them.
The Junior Pro program was created in 1992 as a training ground for Billie Jean Osborne’s Kentucky Opry. The students and musicians represent some of the finest young talent in eastern Kentucky and the region. There are numerous notable alumni. Vocalist Rebecca Lynn Howard, a Magoffin County native, received the 2003 nomination for the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Artist.
Other former members are currently working in Nashville or touring the country. They include J.T. Cure (Chris Stapleton bassist), Kory Caudill and Roger Coleman (Justin Moore band members), Beau Tackett (Blake Shelton guitarist), and Brittany Taylor, vocalist for Triple Run. Current Kentucky Opry members that rose through the program include Garland Rogers, Cody Branham, Katlyn Good, and Megan Bryant.
Mountain Arts Center Executive Director Clayton Case, who is also a Junior Pro alumnus, states that “continuing the tradition of scouting talent throughout eastern Kentucky, something Miss Billie started, and giving them a place to learn and play, is extremely important to us.”
Case also beamed about the local talent. He says, “There’s so much talent in the youth of eastern Kentucky. The Kentucky Opry Junior Pros gives them an excellent opportunity to learn, play, and receive stage and musical experience.”
For more information call the Mountain Arts Center at 606-889-9125.
(story provided by the Mountain Arts Center)
