By Leah Myers
Staff writer
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Jonathan Mitsiaris took home the grand prize at the Student Committee of Programing Events’ second annual UNH Idol on Oct. 1 in Bucknall Theater.

UNH Idol was part of SCOPE’s festivities for the University of New Haven’s music week.

Nearly 100 students attended to watch the 12 performing acts share their passion for singing with lighthearted competition. The song choices were of diverse genres, spanning from pop music to acoustic to vintage Frank Sinatra.

UNH Idol was one of the many activities pertaining to SCOPE’s music week, with other events every evening.

Students of all singing levels were encouraged to enter. Caleb Zenobia, a freshman, was excited to perform. His song choice was “All of Me” by John Legend, in which he also performed the piano part.

“It’s an all around good song to hear,” Zenobia said. He also said that he takes performances seriously, and finds performing fun. Last year, Zenobia auditioned for The Voice.

Tony Banano, freshman, also competed, but for utter enjoyment. Right on the spot, he decided to perform Ariana Grande’s hit “Problem” with another contestant, who he had just met less than an hour before performing.

The Master of Ceremonies was SCOPE’s Special Event Committee Head, Brianna-Marie Barron.

The three judges were Teri Tozzi, a member of the special activities committee for SCOPE, Will Ciccone, a member of SCOPE’s weekend committee, and Zach Grabko, president of the Music Industry Club.

The judges as well as the audience enjoyed the performances.

The audience played an integral part of the night by determining the winners. Members of the audience cheered the loudest for their favorite performance.

The winners were Mitsairis, who performed “Sing,” Keysha Morris, who nailed “Amazing Grace,” and Almas Ali, who sang “Stay.”

The prizes included a $100 Ticketmaster gift-card, a Yamaha keyboard, and a $50 FYE gift-card.