BRAXTON GERALD CARR – Harrisville, UT
Braxton Gerald Carr is the middle child of three kids. He has an older brother and younger sister (who is the best). He started to play music in the 6th grade with violin. After three years of violin, he started playing guitar, ukulele, and cello. Guitar is by far the instrument that he has become the most comfortable with and is the key instrument in most of the music that he plays and writes. His favorite songs to play are the ones that he writes. He has been in many musicals, in most of which he played supporting lead roles (like Michael in Elf) . The most fun musical theater experience that he has had up till now is his role as Harold, in Fly by Night. At the moment he works as a shift leader at Cold Stone. Most people will start a new job and slowly start to hate what they sell but he doesn’t think he’s loved ice cream more in my entire life. His family is almost as important to him as cake batter ice cream. His sister is one of the sweetest people on this earth, and he couldn’t consider himself luckier to have someone like her to correct his spelling. His brother is okay (I guess). His dad has been very supportive of his love for music and has by far the shiniest bald head he has seen in my life. His Mom has also been very supportive and gives the best hugs ever. He’d also like to thank his stepmom and his stepdad for putting up with his loud guitar playing. As a hobby and means of transportation he enjoys riding my bike. For a while it was how he got to work and then he started to really enjoy riding distances. He hopes to be able to complete the tour of Utah (one of the longest bike tours) someday hopefully soon. He couldn’t be more excited to participate in the NEA’s songwriting challenge and improve his habits as a songwriter in musical theater. Eliza and Braxton have been working very hard and can’t wait to see how the song they wrote together will improve during the finalists’ weekend and sound with professionals performing it.
ELIZA CORRINGTON – Syracuse, UT
Eliza Corrington is a senior at DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts, a sister to 5 brothers, and an optimist with a burning passion for musical theatre and performing. An early memory of hers is turning on the song “Roxie” from the Broadway show Chicago and singing along and dancing around the house. She has been involved in theatre for 15 years, both onstage and behind the scenes. She participated in her local theatre organization, the Nibley Children’s Theatre, every summer for a decade, performing in the ensemble, as a lead, in stage crew, and as a composer and arranger. Her most significant moments in theatre have been while performing for DaVinci Academy, some favorites including being ensemble member and student director in Fly By Night in 2017, competing in the 2017 Utah Shakespeare Festival and 2018 State Utah Thespians Festival, and recently Baroness Stride in Jekyll and Hyde. She loves every moment of being in DaVinci Academy’s theatre program and being able to learn from the many talented students and directors she is surrounded with. Her love for music extends beyond the contemporary Broadway world and into the classical music sphere. Eliza has played violin since 3rd grade and has been a member of the Northern Utah Youth Symphony for 5 years. She plays violin, percussion, and piano, but her favorite instrument is her voice. Her dedication to multiple areas of fine arts is complemented by her joy for STEM, especially anything that has to do with space. Determined to literally shoot for the stars, she wishes to become an astronaut pilot or commander and astrophysicist. She works for the summer camp Astro Camp Utah, sharing her love for astronomy with children, and teaching them the wonders of space through space shuttle mission simulations. These simulations feel so similar to her many theatre performances and Eliza uses the skills and tricks she’s learned from theatre to create as real an experience for her campers as she possibly can. The memories she gained working for Astro Camp helped inspire her to write the song “Ten Seconds to Infinity” with her partner Braxton Carr. She is a high honor roll student and a Sterling Scholar Semi Finalist in Theatrical Arts. When she’s not in front of an audience, Eliza returns to her many hobbies like painting, reading, and singing in the shower. A nerd through and through, Eliza enjoys playing made up geeky games with her younger brothers, usually dissolving into a lightsaber of Jedi vs Sith.
