Dalton Cyr Musical Prodigy (Cyriously Talented)

“I just want to make albums that make people happy.”

Dalton Cyr
Dalton Cyr (Click to Enlarge)

Last summer I visited Jacksonville Florida on my way back from Orlando.  What I did not know is that a few miles away, Jacksonville Beach was going to host a new video by another very talented young artist that is fast becoming a singing sensation in that part of Florida!  Sometime after returning home, I was browsing YouTube and came across a young man who not only captured my attention with his vocal skill, but exhibited personality and charisma in his videos that demonstrated true performing talent.

This young man is Eleven Year Old Dalton Cyr.

His Dad told me that Dalton has always loved music. At just three years of age he was already singing along to pop artists on the radio and frequently wanted to dance with his stepmother, Cindy.

He would learn all the songs for his school performances and then sing them over and over again at home. However, Dalton had terrible stage fright and would not sing when it came time for performances.  In second grade he was chosen for the role of “Johnny” in a school play. Most of the play involved singing with his classmates as a group as well as the key role of Johnny which he powerfully conveyed entirely through non-verbal communication.  Watching him sing and act it was evident, he loved singing and it seemed he had moved past his stage fright.  The music and acting bug had bitten Dalton.

daltoncyrvid
The Way It Should Be! Dalton Cyr

Please use this link also to go directly to his YouTube Channel so you can leave him a comment there as well as at the end of this article!

The same year, when Dalton was seven, he received his first guitar for Christmas. Dalton’s Dad, Frank, noticed Dalton’s great ear when Dalton became frustrated the very first day playing his new miniature Stratocaster guitar because miniatures aren’t tuned the same as a regular guitar.  After exchanging the guitar for a ¾ electric guitar that was too big for him, but tuned correctly, Dalton began his musical journey taking guitar lessons. He performed a few times with his guitar and in 2008, when he was 8 he also joined a local community children’s choir.

Dalton Cyr Riverwalk
Dalton Cyr (Click to Enlarge)

In 2009, just a few months before his 9th birthday, he saw a friend play the lead role in a local musical production of Beauty and the Beast. Inspired, he decided at that moment he wanted to audition for the following year’s production.

For an entire year he talked about how he wanted to audition and wrote it down as one of his goals for 2010. However, when the auditions came around in early February of 2010, Dalton was extremely nervous about having to sing in front of people during an audition. He came home and told his parents that he was just going to try out for a speaking part.  Then the following day, he came home and told his parents he was just going to be a stagehand. Suspicious, his parents inquired why he would change his mind when he had been talking about being in the musical all year.  As it turned out, the only way to be in the musical even as a stagehand, required you to sing as part of your audition.

Wanting to help Dalton fulfill his dream of being in the musical, Dalton’s dad spoke to the musical director and asked for tips. One tip was to sing wearing headphones so Dalton could hear himself. So Dalton’s dad set up a place for Dalton to sing with a microphone and headphones. Each night Dalton would practice for an hour or more.  The day of tryouts, he was so nervous he made himself sick!  But the directors let Dalton try out an alternate day and he did the audition for Willy Wonka. The audition went well and Dalton got the part of Mike Teevee.

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Sam Santiago Wow’s West Michigan!

Rivenmaster and boys

This past August Sam Santiago and his family from Irvine, California spent a week of their vacation to visit my home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was a wonderful time getting to know Sam better, and being able to spend quality time with his family and Sebastian, a good friend of Sam’s older brother Penuel!

Staying only a few minutes from my home, it made it easy to travel back and forth from the Hotel to the house to meet every day for some special time together. We spent the entire week traveling around the city, seeing the sights, visiting parks, and of course doing lots of singing both in the car and at special engagements.

craigs cruisersSam is such an energetic fellow and is full of life and fun. Not unlike any other Nine year old, Sam loves to play video games and especially enjoyed our time at the Go Cart -Video Arcade called Craig’s Cruisers . The boys and I played laser tag, rode go carts, and enjoyed a game of mini golf before the day was over. His family also enjoyed visiting a small nearby tourist town on the bay featuring very unusual art and specialty items sold in small shops and stores.

Sam picked up a new hat at one of the shops which came in handy a little later that week for one of his performances.

Sam is always practicing his vocal skills. Even when he is just traveling in the car Sam is continually singing. There is no doubt that this boy loves to sing. On one occasion while traveling to one of the sightseeing points, Sam and I broke into our own cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” with Sam leading the way and me following with the harmony while trying to remember the words. Lol 🙂 What fun that was!

Sam did three performances while he was visiting. His first performance was for my local church assembly where he sang his medley of “As the Deer & I love you Lord”. He brought many to tears with his rendition of this song then raised the roof singing “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin. Everyone was standing on their feet as Sam was leading the entire congregation in this second worship song!

What the congregation did not know is that Sam had only learned this song the day before! He not only hit every note but remembered every word perfectly. Amazing Sam!

 

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