Florida Star Search

Building upon the firm foundation established by previous years, the Florida Division recently hosted its most ambitious Star Search competition yet, welcoming over 200 delegates to the Clearwater Corps. After months of practice, participants were ready to present their best for the Lord and display their talents for the division. Some traveled as far as six hours to represent their church, performing in the categories of brass, voice, dance, drama, piano, and percussion. Each participant received a helpful critique by accomplished musicians and leaders within The Salvation Army.

For many of the young delegates, this was their first time ever competing at this level with this amount of pressure. The competition aspect inspired some nervousness, but that soon turned into excitement as Assistant Divisional Music Director Rodney Jean’s vision for the event came to life. As he and Territorial Music and Creative Arts Education Secretary Nick Simmons-Smith delivered inspirational remarks, delegates were filled with anticipation and enthusiasm to perform and represent their corps well. The building, filled with participants, volunteers, and parents, thrummed with electric expectation.

The many performances highlighted the impressive talent across the Florida Division. Rodney shares how excited he was to see “how many young people participated and how the corps music groups are flourishing around the division.” One of the prizes included group winners performing at the concert following the competition, showcasing their achievements to the other corps in attendance. The applause during the awards presentation was thunderous as the audience cheered for all the delegates’ hard work.

This event also serves to prepare delegates for the territorial Spotlight competition which culminates at the Centennial Celebration next year, allowing all participants to gain competition experience and motivation moving forward. But beyond the scores and rankings, this competition serves a specific purpose: to glorify God and to cultivate the musical and creative gifts of the young people of The Salvation Army Florida Division.