COBARGO musician Connor Ross has taken out the Narooma heat for the Telstra Road to Discovery.
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The 18-year-old is now in the running to win a $15,000 music development fund and a trip to the United States to perform at the Americana Music Festival.
The prize also includes ongoing opportunities for further development including local gigs and education to help kick-start their music career.
Ross, who favours alternative folk music, finds live performance at the heart of his musical identity.
First picking up the trumpet at the age of ten, he has grown to become a multi-instrumentalist performer who creates a unique sound with jazz and blues influences.
Ross said he was excited to have won the Narooma heat and was looking forward to the next stage of the program.
“I’m absolutely elated,” he said.
“The competition was extremely fierce and it’s just such an honour to have won.”
Telstra Country Wide Area general manager for Southern NSW Larissa Redford said Ross was a definite crowd pleaser and she is looking forward to following his journey through the program.
“Over the years, incredible talent such as Jessica Mauboy, Neda and Harry Hookey have been discovered through the program,” she said.
Ross performed two original acoustic songs at the heat alongside five other hopefuls from the state to a captivated audience at the Great Southern Blues Festival last Sunday and received praise from judge Graham Thompson, managing director of Compass Brothers Records.
Ross will now progress to a three day music mentoring boot camp in Melbourne from October 20-22, joining 16 other hopefuls from across the country.
Here musicians will gain an insight into the music business and valuable knowledge from some of the industry’s most influential figures on topics ranging from publishing and touring, through to song construction, performance and publicity.
From there Ross will take part in the Semi Final event in Melbourne on October 24 where 10 musicians will be selected to progress to the Grand Final event in Melbourne on December 3.