Cassia enjoys taste of fame

MUSIC plays a big part in the Donovan household, now youngest child Cassia has a chance to make it a career. 038061AD

By Dean Taylor

Cassia Donovan doesn’t have her dream career as a singer yet, but she has tasted what it would feel like to be famous.

On the Sunday night of the Parachute ‘06 Festival at Mystery Creek Cassia sang on the main stage in front of 20,000 as winner of the Parachute Rockstar Comp.

“It was awesome,” she says.

Cassia has just completed a one year vocal course at Vision College in Hamilton and this year takes up an internship as art director for The Church at Te Awamutu. A keen all-rounder in the arts, she plans to get lots of music, dance, drama and visual art happening.

Cassia especially enjoys dance and music, but aspires to be a singer. She took the opportunity along with about 100 other hopefuls to audition for Parachute Rockstar Comp, choosing to sing ‘More To Life’ by one of her favourite artists Stacie Oricco. She made the semifinal with 20 others and sang on the Village Stage to make the top three, and stepping up to the Palladium Stage. Then after being named winner, Cassia was put on the bill for the main stage on Sunday night, and once again performed, this time for 20,000 people.

She wins the chance to record at Parachute Studios, an opportunity she plans to make the most of.

Cassia comes from a musical family and plans to involve them. Both parents and her four brothers play instruments and sing. She says she is very proud of them all. Already family and friends have offered to help out with the recording, so Cassia hopes to be able to put a band together and record some original material.

Twin brother Karl writes songs, so she plans to record one of his pieces, as well as a specially written piece by friend Riana Douglas. If there is time she would also like to record something written by her father Terry.

The ultimate goal would be to use the opportunity to launch a career. Who can tell?