When Alliszon Zaichkowski arrived to Canada91裸聊视频檚 Got Talent this season, she blew viewers91裸聊视频� minds with a skill one might say came from Atlantis itself.
A classical musician and James Bay resident hailing from White Rock, B.C., she appeared on stage Nov. 11 at the Grand Hall in Niagara Falls, Ont., to play pop music with nothing but a conch shell. She didn91裸聊视频檛 make it far in the competition but would learn that her performance, which aired April 19, nearly received a golden buzzer from contest judge and Canadian comedian Howard Mandel.
Zaichkowski, 42, first learned of the conch from William Golding91裸聊视频檚 Lord of the Flies, in which Piggy totes the shell as a symbol of civilized society. But her unique skill with the improvised instrument comes from 21 years of playing French horn and serving in the Royal Canadian Navy91裸聊视频檚 Naden Band.
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She also holds a bachelor of music in French horn from the University of British Columbia, a master of music from the University of Calgary and has additionally studied at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Zaichkowski began tooting an acoustically low-quality conch 11 years ago for a solo horn program she performed at retirement homes, which featured a historical demonstration of the French horn91裸聊视频檚 ancestry. But when she jokingly ordered her own shell off eBay and gave it a honk, she 91裸聊视频渃ouldn91裸聊视频檛 believe how good it sounded.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淓veryone was saying, 91裸聊视频楳y grandpa has this shell, you can have it.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Discovering that each conch comes with its own special sound, Zaichkowski went on to amass 20 shells.
When she caught wind of an annual 91裸聊视频渃onch honk91裸聊视频� festival happening in Key West, Fla., she decided to make her first big move with the instrument. It appeared most of the conch-blowing competition she91裸聊视频檇 be facing down south comprised kids honking shells aimlessly and drunken adults doing the YMCA, although learning jazz trombonist Steve Turre would also be playing the conch there kept Zaichkowski on her toes.
91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频榊ou need to go down there and blow people91裸聊视频檚 minds,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she recalled friends and family telling her.
Having previously won four national competitions playing the French horn, Zaichkowski was no stranger to competition.
91裸聊视频淚 have that training in my blood.91裸聊视频�
At the conch-blowing event in March 2020, she emerged the women91裸聊视频檚 division winner after a successful performance of Queen91裸聊视频檚 Bohemian Rhapsody and songs of Neil Young and Igor Stravinsky. She remembered the local media swarming her before she could leave.
91裸聊视频淚t was literally the last thing I did before COVID shut the whole world down.91裸聊视频�
She returned home and spent the first year of the pandemic expanding her repertoire. Later hearing announcements for a relaunch of Canada91裸聊视频檚 Got Talent, she figured it was time to step things up.
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91裸聊视频楽omething you91裸聊视频檝e never heard of before91裸聊视频�
Despite often being categorized as a musician on the show, Zaichkowski found herself ticking many 91裸聊视频渙ther91裸聊视频� boxes on sign-up sheets.
91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 me: 91裸聊视频榮omething you91裸聊视频檝e never heard of before.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
A major challenge was explaining her act to the judges beforehand without giving too much away.
But Zaichkowski 91裸聊视频� who has neither had cable TV in 10 years nor watched a single Got Talent Global performance herself 91裸聊视频搒aid knowing less can help. The enthusiastic backstage crew worked hard to keep her act a complete surprise.
She enjoyed getting to know all the other uniquely talented performers, including Sooke hula hoop artist Christina Munchinsky, but worried she would disrupt and distract fellow competitors with her own practising.
A near golden-buzzer performance
Recycling her set from Florida, Zaichkowski would toot an arrangement similar to the one that brought her fame prior to the pandemic. Then, she was cast out into the spotlight before a thousand-person crowd to perform Bohemian Rhapsody once again.
91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 realize that Howie Mandel was so into it,91裸聊视频� she recalled from the audition as she was unable to see past her conch while playing.
91裸聊视频淗e loved it.91裸聊视频�
Judges Lilly Singh, Trish Stratus and Kardinal Offishall resorted to their red buzzers before Zaichkowski finished playing, but Mandel enjoyed the act so much that he defended his own red buzzer from his colleagues and even attempted to press the golden buzzer. He was ultimately restrained by the other judges, at which point Offishall brought the performance to an end herself with a hit to Mandel91裸聊视频檚 red buzzer.
From behind her conch, Zaichkowski could hear the blare of the judges91裸聊视频� buzzers, which she assumed was feedback coming through the sound system. According to a friend in the crowd, other people there watching reacted well to her unique performance.
Critiques from the judges mainly constituted playing pop instead of classical music. For Zaichkowski, who spent 10 years perfecting Queen91裸聊视频檚 song, this would be easier said than done.
91裸聊视频淚 felt kind of like the judges weren91裸聊视频檛 the right audience for my act.91裸聊视频�
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The Vancouver Island performer learned a lot from the experience but would likely try a different competition in the future, given the nature of her classical training. Whereas adapting Beethoven91裸聊视频檚 7th Symphony to the conch would be relatively easy, playing more contemporary music on the shell proves challenging due to any given pop song having a narrow chord progression.
91裸聊视频淵ou have to get really creative to make it sound recognizable,91裸聊视频� she said, adding a lot of it comes down to improvisation.
For now, Zaichkowski is tuning her conch to a Gustav Holst orchestral suite titled The Planets, which she likes to play on beaches in hopes of one day summoning whales.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 always open to new ideas.91裸聊视频�
Do you have a story tip? Email: evert.lindquist@blackpress.ca.
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