Singers Natalie Cole, Donna Summer and comedian Sinbad have been confirmed to perform at the David Foster Foundation’s fundraiser, Crescendo, at the Halifax Metro Centre on March 29.

Cole and Summer will be backed by Symphony Nova Scotia.

Foster made the announcement on CTV’s Live at 5 on Tuesday in a video feed from Vancouver where he was promoting the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The event will help raise funds for Canadian families with children facing organ transplants.

All corporate tables for the David Foster & Friends gala concert are sold out. There are weekend passes left.

The weekend will also include the finals of the talent search called Ovation, which will see the winner perform at Cresendo, as well.

Eleven singers competed at Glace Bay’s Savoy Theatre on Monday with judges B.J. Cook (Foster’s ex-wife), singer-songwriter John Gracie and 94.9 radio host Phil Thompson.

Next Monday, Feb. 18, the competition comes to the Bella Rose Theatre at Halifax West High School with Cook, C100’s Peter Harrison and singer-songwriter Bruce Guthro as judges.

One singer from each Atlantic Canadian city where Ovation will visit will vie for the honour at the finals on March 28 at Halifax’s Casino Nova Scotia. For more info visit:

www.davidfosteratlantic.ca

From TheChronicleHerald.ca:

By ANDREA NEMETZ Entertainment Reporter

The deadline to apply for David Foster’s Ovation Star Search Atlantic has been extended till Jan. 12 in response to requests from applicants asking for more time due to the holiday season.

Ovation organizers are inviting Atlantic Canadians between the ages of 14 and 29 to apply for the chance to perform onstage with David Foster at the star-studded Crescendo Gala Weekend in support of the David Foster Foundation.

Those interested can download an application package from www.starsearchatlantic.ca.

The top entries will be selected to compete in front of a panel of local celebrity judges and music industry professionals at regional competitions taking place in all four Atlantic provinces in the New Year. Nova Scotia auditions will be held at Glace Bay’s Savoy Theatre on Monday, Feb. 11, 7 to 9 p.m. and Halifax’s Bella Rose Theatre on Monday, Feb. 18, 7 to 9 p.m.

Regional finalists from each location will be chosen to perform at a talent showcase in Halifax on March 28.

One winner will then be chosen to perform at the Crescendo Gala and Concert with David Foster on March 29. The goal is to raise $1 million from the gala weekend, March 28 to 30, for the David Foster Foundation.

Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca
More info: Crescendo
More info: Ovation: Star Search Atlantic
More info: David Foster Foundation

Foster promises Crescendo of talent for charity
Hints at Groban, Buble or Collins to headline March show

by HEATHER SAWERS
The Daily News

March is normally a blah, slushy month, but Halifax will be treated to a sparkling Hollywood event six months from now.

Famed Canadian music producer David Foster was in town to announce a flashy three-day event called Crescendo to raise money for The David Foster Foundation. The weekend will feature a showcase of local talent at Casino Nova Scotia on March 28 and a charity gala and concert at the World Trade and Convention Centre on March 29.

The foundation - which Foster started back in 1986 - provides support for Canadian families with children undergoing organ transplants, and has helped more than 340 Canadian families to date.

“When (families) get hit with these extra costs, they just can’t function. It breaks down the entire fibre of the family,” Foster told reporters yesterday. “We fill that gap, so they can concentrate on the care of their child, and their other children.”

Foster is aiming to raise $1 million at the event, which would be the largest amount from a single event in Atlantic Canadian history.

The highlight of the weekend will be the gala concert, which always features a celebrity headliner, but Foster is keeping details hush-hush at the moment.

“Whenever I give a lineup, people always say ‘OK, but who are the surprise guests going to be?’” Foster said. “Meanwhile, you’ve got Bryan Adams and Celine Dion and Kenny G, and people are still asking about the surprises. No matter who I name, they always want more.”

“I’d like to ask Michael Buble to come here, and I want to ask Josh Groban and Phil Collins,” he continued. “They’re doable asks for me, and I promise you it will be somebody like that who will headline the show. I will not let you down.”

Foster, who has produced songs for Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Madonna, and has won 14 Grammy Awards, said part of the fundraising is a search for new musical talent called Ovation Star Search Atlantic. Singers between the ages of 14 and 29 can apply to compete for the chance to perform in front of Foster and a panel of celebrity judges. The winner from that showcase will get to perform with Foster at the gala concert.

“I love to find new singers, so somebody from the Maritimes is going to be opening our show,” Foster said. “It’s an exciting chance for somebody local - maybe somebody from right here in Halifax.”

More info on Crescendo: www.davidfosteratlantic.ca
Source: HFXNews.ca