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San Ramon's Singing Teen Idol

The winner of the San Ramon Valley Teen Idol has stunned many with his vocal talent, but his affinity for classical music has set him even further apart from the competition.

To win first place in the 2010 San Ramon Valley Teen Idol competition, California High School graduate Malcolm Trimnell knew he had to stun the judges with an amazing performance.

So instead of singing a mainstream musical hit, Trimnell performed an Italian opera piece, "Pieta Signore" by Alessandro Stradella, winning him the Teen Idol title, $1,000 and a free recording session.

Though the song choice may seem out of character for most teen vocalists, that is not the case for Trimnell, who will attend the New England Conservatory of Music in the fall.

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Despite the pleasure he takes in both performing and listening to pop and rock, the 18-year-old singer's passion and training lie primarily with classical music.

"For me, classical music is just beautiful and it's spiritually uplifting," he said.

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Much of his excitement for opera and other classical songs only came into full bloom recently after he spent his junior year of high school studying in Germany.

During his time there, Trimnell became fluent in the language, performed with several choirs at venues like Beethoven Hall in Bonn, and gave his singing career a jump-start.

"My host family was very musically-inclined, and while I was with them, opportunities for music exploded around me," he said. "(They) showed me how it's possible to make a living off of music."

With new inspiration, Trimnell returned to San Ramon at the start of summer 2009. He enrolled at Diablo Valley Community College for music classes, including an applied vocal training class taught by Elizabeth Emigh.

Trimnell took on Emigh as his first official voice coach, and the two trained weekly for several months during the fall and winter of Trimnell's senior year in preparation for upcoming college auditions.

"I think his exposure to Germany and German culture has really helped despite the fact he hasn't been formally trained," said Emigh. "When you perform a song, you have to present it as if it's your language, so the fact that he's fluent in German and English really helps."

Trimnell has had to sing in other languages, like Italian, as well, and according to Trimnell, a part of the rigorous training at the New England Conservatory will be mastering the ability to sing confidently in other languages.

Even with the tremendous amount of hardwork that singing has demanded from him, Trimnell has clung to his enthusiasm for music. With both a mother and a sister who sing, he has been involved with music for nearly his entire life.

"I started him off with the cello when he was very little," said Angela Ehrlich, Trimnell's mom. "Later I started him with singing and he for a while he performed in the Iowa Youth Chorus."

As he grew up, Trimnell continued pursuing his talents in various musical instruments, including the clarinet, trombone, drums, and the French horn.

He performed these instruments with many of Cal High's bands and choruses, and he also took center stage singing at several of Cal High's events from football games to the Mr. Cali competition.

Trimnell plans to pursue singing and music after college, although at the moment he has no definite idea of what he will be doing.

"The bottom line is as long as he's happy with what he's doing and feeling good, then we support him," said his mother.

For now, Trimnell will add the Teen Idol competition to his growing list of musical achievements and will prepare songs to perform for his recording session.

"I feel like with singing, I can emote more of myself, of my person, than with any other instrument," he said. "If you're given a gift, you should use it to its full excellence. Go all out."

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