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Suffolk’s Idol: John Corraro

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Nicole Rosa
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Erica Markle
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Suffolk chapter.


Name: John Corraro        
Year: Class of 2015
Major: Government
Hometown: Shelton, CT

Before the cheers, chants, and sounds of sneakers filled the TD Garden basketball court yesterday, February 15th, the sound of Suffolk’s own John Corraro’s voice filled the air. John had the opprotunity to perform the national anthem at the Celtics game, with the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and their dedicated fans as his audience. On Friday, January 27th, John defeated ten other contestants at Suffolk University’s second annual Suffolk Idol competition. The grand prize was the unique opportunity to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at this Celtics game. 

Prior his performance, John stated, “The idea that I’ll be singing in front of so many people at an awesome venue hasn’t quite fully sunk in, and I don’t know if it will until that day.” To prepare for this huge opportunity John kept himself healthy and avoided anything that had the potential to hurt his voice. He wanted his performance to be the very best it could possibly be.
 
The “Suffolk Idol” competition wasn’t the first opportunity John had to showcase his incredibly talented singing voice in Boston. John participated in Fall Fest in October and will be appearing in the Theater Department’s production of Anything Goes this spring. He will be playing the part of Elisha Whiney, a Wall Street banker. John is not only involved on campus in theater and performing, but he is also the Publications Chair of the Residence Housing Association and is a hard working government major.

 

Questions and Answers with John Corraro

Her Campus Suffolk: Congrats on being named Suffolk’s Idol! What was the process of being on Suffolk Idol like?
 
John Corraro: The Performing Arts Office (PAO) advertised “Suffolk Idol” so I thought, “Why not!” I signed up, prepared a song, and set off to compete. We started with eleven contestants, each singing a song of our choice. The competition was then brought down to three finalists, who were asked to perform the National Anthem. From that, I was chosen as the winner. While I don’t usually get nervous, I found myself shaking uncontrollably while walking up to sing the National Anthem. I quickly got over the nerves and just had fun, as I always do when I perform. The experience was incredible, and I’m blessed to have come out the winner, having competed against some seriously talented individuals.
 
HCS: How long have you been singing? And how did you get started singing?
 
JC: I started performing in the second grade when I joined my church’s children’s choir, and also attended a theatre camp that summer. I was hooked. I began studying voice with my choir director in the fourth grade for about two years. At the start of high school, I started studying with Ivan Rutherford, who played, Valjean in Broadway’s Les Miserables, who I was with for three years until he moved out to California. Today I study with Mia Scarpa, a graduate of the musical theatre program at Muhlenburg College. 
 
HCS: What genre of music is your favorite?
 
JC: I’m a big musical theatre nerd. I listen to it all the time and it’s what I always sing. Growing up doing theatre, it’s what I’ve always known and it’s what I love. I do listen to country music as well.
 
HCS: Who is your biggest inspiration?
 
JC:  My biggest inspiration in my life is my grandmother. She passed away from cancer when I was in the third grade. No matter what I do, I seek to make her proud. I dedicate any type of performance to her.
 
HCS: You obviously have a great time performing. What else do you do for fun? 
 
JC: For fun I love to just hang out with my girlfriend or a group of friends. Being from Connecticut, I love to go to New York City for a day just to hang out or catch the latest Broadway show! My passion other than theatre is volunteering at a community theatre in my town. While people may find it strange, I love spending my spare time at the theatre doing whatever I can to help out.


Be sure to be on the look out for more big things from John throughout his time at Suffolk!

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Nicole Rosa Major: Advertising Academic Year: 2015 Bio: I was born and raised in Wallingford, CT. Softball is basically my life. I've been playing for 14 years and I'm a shortstop and catcher on the Suffolk team. I'm the manager of the Rent the Runway Campus Rep team at Suffolk. I love love love photography, fashion, decorating, rap music, and sports!
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Originally from Connecticut, Erica attends Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a senior, majoring in public relations, and minoring in marketing. She founded Suffolk's chapter of Her Campus along with co-Campus Correspondent, Mackenzie Newcomb. has interned at a few start-up companies including Quincy Apparel and Good to Go Organics. She was also a public relations intern at Regan Communications Group, and is currently the advertising/marketing intern at The Improper Bostonian Magazine. Erica also works on Newbury Street at Jack Wills University Outfitters, a British clothing company that is expanding across America. She is very interested in the world of fashion, and hopes to make it big doing marketing/PR for a fashion magazine or as a publicist in New York City or LA upon graduation. In her free time, she enjoys shopping, hanging out with friends, going to the beach, reading, writing, and dancing.