In front of approximately 3,500 concert goers, The Voice of Garden Grove 2017 was named at last Thursday’s free summer concert, held at Eastgate Park, 12001 St. Mark Street. The winner was Althessa Jones, a recent graduate from Garden Grove High School. Jones was awarded a $500 cash prize and earned $500 for Garden Grove High School’s choir department, led by Kari Galeener. Jones performed “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off” by Ella Eyre.

Mya Shimizu, a fellow Argonaut from Garden Grove High School, was announced runner-up and received a $250 prize. Another $250 was donated to Garden Grove High School’s choir department. Shimizu performed “P.Y.T.” by Michael Jackson.

For the first time in The Voice of Garden Grove history, both winners were from the same school.

A total of 20 students competed in this year’s singing competition, which is held during the free Summer Concert Series, during the months of July and August. Among the finalists were Sandra Zavala, Ian Decock, and Caitlyn Luong from Pacifica High School.

Jones was selected as the wild card contestant after a solid performance during the semi-finals.

The students were scored on a 100-point scale by five volunteer judges, including professional singers and vocal trainers.

The Voice of Garden Grove is a singing competition for local high school students and is sponsored by the Garden Grove Community Foundation, a supporter of education and arts in the community. For the past six years, through the local singing competition, the Foundation has provided $4,500 in scholarships to Garden Grove Unified School District students and choral programs.

For more information, visit www.ggcf.com or call (714) 741-5200.

For more photos and videos of this year’s performances, visit the Garden Grove Community Foundation Facebook or search for #voiceofgg.