2009 C-N Alumnus in Army’s National Talent Competition

U.S. Army Specialist Constance “Connie” Mack ’09 is a finalist in the Army’s eighth season of Operation Rising Star. A student linguist stationed at the Presidio of Monterey, California, Mack will travel to Fort Sam Houston and participate in a singing competition that is modeled after FOX television’s “American Idol.”

Contestants will perform live daily from Dec. 8 through 15, provided they earn enough votes to remain. The show’s winner will be announced during the December 15 finale. The first broadcast airs 8 p.m. EST Sunday, December 9 on the Pentagon Channel; it will also be available online at www.OpRisingStar.com. Voting will begin at the conclusion of the program and remain open for two hours after the show. Each show will air three times daily to accommodate viewers across different time zones – Eastern Standard, Central European and Korean Standard. Voting will account for half of the contestant’s total score.

Mack graduated from DeKalb School of the Arts before coming to C-N, where she earned a BA in music. She credits her mother as the person who most influenced her style and allows that jazz is her favorite genre of music. During her C-N years, she was part of several groups, including a ten-member ensemble called Redemption, Women’s Singers, and A Cappella Choir, an audition-only group for which she was a soloist and section leader who was elected by her peers to serve as president.

Guest artists will include former American Idol contestant Bo Bice, Next’s lead vocalist R.L., and the winner of last year’s Operation Rising Star, Army National Guard Sgt. Melissa Neal. Judges for the competition are Sergeant Major of the Army (Ret.) Jack Tilley, The Voice’s Debra Byrd and country recording artist Michael Peterson.

_{– Mark Brown, Alumni Relations}