Jade Kuhn, a senior at Sedona Red Rock High School, won first place in the school’s talent show at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Jan. 30, with a vocal performance of Noah Kahan’s “Everywhere, Everything.”Khrystian Kaikala, a junior, took second place with a solo piano performance of “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme” from the “La La Land” soundtrack, while Kuhn’s brother Logan Kuhn won third place with a rendition of Finneas O’Connell’s “Break My Heart Again.” Kuhn received a pair of Airpods as a prize and Kaikala a Polaroid camera.

Jade Kuhn

“I was kind of shocked to win because I thought [Kaikala] was going to get first place because he did an amazing piano solo and I got a lot of love and support from [the school],” Kuhn said. “I was very comfortable on stage. My [Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education] instructor [Genna] Adams, was there, so I just wanted to make her proud, and my mom as well.”

Kuhn credited VACTE with contributing to her academic growth and bolstering her stage performance by improving her communication, public speaking skills and confidence. With a 3.9 GPA, she qualified for the Lumberjack Tuition Scholarship and will be graduating high school early.

“I got a full ride to Northern Arizona University and I will be majoring in elementary education,” Kuhn said. “I love kids, and I love teaching. I’m currently in VACTE for education professions, and I’m in an internship at West Sedona School with a kindergarten class, and I just love them so much, and I just found what I wanted to.”

Kuhn said that she selected the song because it falls in her alto range and because “it’s about bringing people up,” so she felt that it was a good choice because of the national political climate.

“I listen to a lot of country soul,” Kuhn said, which she felt also described her song selection. “It’s a little more modern, they don’t use as many guitars, it’s more piano-based, but they still have that country twang when they sing.”

Khrystian Kaikala

Kaikala said he began taking piano lessons when he was 4 years old and hated the experience, but started playing more consistently over the last three years after his mother bought him a small electric Hemingway piano.

“When you’re in piano lessons, you’re taught you have to play a certain way,” Kaikala said. “I didn’t like being confined in music and because I feel like music is supposed to be free and creative.”

Kaikala said he listens to a wide range of genres, including Hispanic music and “older” hip-hop and R&B artists like 50 Cent and Eminem.

“I don’t think people realized how difficult what [Kaikala] was doing was … He had everything memorized; he brought up all these dynamics,” orchestra teacher Cody McKesson said. “He could sing the melody in his head and he’d bring that out the piano and he did an amazing job. It made me feel a little emotional hearing it because it was so good.”

Jade Kuhn said her brother Logan’s performance was especially brave because it was his first time on stage.

“If [Logan Kuhn] does another talent show, he should sing Frank Sinatra, because that’s what his voice sounded like to me, because his voice is very rich-sounding and gentle, and that was a lot of fun to listen to,” McKesson said.