Wyandotte Singer Wins Downriver Idol Contest

Laurie Mata just had to smile when she came in first place at the recent Downriver Idol contest sponsored by the Southern Great Lakes Symphony.

"I was really surprised (because) Jill and Lara are just so talented and sounded so good,” Mata said, acknowledging her competition.

Apparently, the judges thought Mata sounded even better.

The three singers and the orchestra performed on Sunday at the Flat Rock Community Auditorium. The concert, titled “Musical Winners,” featured compositions from several Academy-nominated composers. The Idol finalists chose their own songs to perform and Mata said the competition was impressive.

Mata sang “The Nearness of You” written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. The popular song has been performed by several musical artists throughout the years including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Norah Jones and Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones.

Also in the competition, Jill Ryan sang "Feeling Good" from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd and Lara Semetko sang "Chacun le sait" from the opera "La fille du régiment."

Mata was thrilled to be chosen as the winner.

“They all have such impressive training in music,” she said. “All the performances were great.”

Mata, who has lived in Wyandotte for the last 27 years, freely admits she was not formally trained in music.

“My mother was formally trained and had a wonderful voice,” Mata said. “I grew up singing with her and thinking that all families did the same thing. As I got older, I began to  realize that not everyone could sing like my mother.”

Mata has made her own mark on the local music scene.

“When we first moved to Wyandotte, my kids were little and I began working in music,” Mata said. “In the beginning I would sing at weddings for friends.”

Mata was interested in a career that wouldn’t interfere with the busy schedule of raising children. She performed in some wedding bands and later became part of a popular duo known as Sweet Release who performed regionally throughout the 1990s. Since then, she has performed at several weddings and private functions. She also is involved in an original music writing project with two other musicians.

One of Mata’s biggest fan bases can be found at Wyandotte’s where the singer occasionally can be found on a Friday or Saturday performing during karaoke nights.

"They are so supportive," Mata said. "It's a great place to have a good time, good food and sing karaoke."

Mata said her family is her greatest source of strength, including her husband of 32 years, Peter Mata. Her son, Damien, also is involved with music, working as a radio disc jockey in Oregon. Her daughter, Chelsea, is married to Bryan Lobato and they are expecting their first child. Both Damien and Chelsea are graduates of Roosevelt High School.  Mata’s stepdaughters, Kim Bruno and Nicole Kotsoyians, also are very supportive of her musical endeavors.

In a twist of fate, the family was already gathered together Sunday as Chelsea’s baby shower fell on the same day as the Idol competition.

“When I heard the final was going to be held on the same day as my daughter’s baby shower, I didn’t know what to think at first," Mata said. "The day before the competition, I drove from the place where we were having the shower to the auditorium just to see what the timing would be like.”

Mata said her busy itinerary may have helped her performance.

“I really didn’t have any time to actually think about the performance,” she said. “I went straight from my daughter’s shower to the Idol competition.”

Many of her friends and family had purchased tickets to the competition so they were able to join her at both events that day. Mata said the experience was an emotional one.

“The song I chose was one of my dad’s favorites,” she said.

Mata has very fond memories of her father who passed away 10 years ago. She feels a deep connection to the song and felt the support of friends and family while onstage.

“We got there just in the nick of time, so I thought everyone who was rooting for me would be sitting in the back,” Mata said. "When I came out onstage, I was surprised to see my husband sitting in the front.”

One of the highlights for Mata was to perform the song with symphony accompaniment.

“The orchestration on the song was brilliant,” Mata said of an arrangement constructed by Robert Lidcke and conducted by Maestro Charles Greenwell. 

“The chance to work with the symphony fulfills a major goal. It has always been a dream of mine to perform with an orchestra.”

One of the main rewards of being named Downriver Idol is the opportunity for Mata to perform with the Southern Great Lakes Symphony in their next season. She will be working with Maestro Greenwell on performances to be determined at a later date.

After her long day of hosting a baby shower and performing in an Idol competition, Mata said she could only think of one thing: How much her feet hurt.

She was thinking about how nice it would be to go home and kick off her heels when she heard the announcement.

“After I heard the jaw-dropping news that I won, I realized that my feet no longer hurt at all,” Mata said. “Overall it really has been a great experience.”

Mata is proof that persistence pays off.

After taking a couple years off the music mainstream, she decided to return to her passion. She entered the Downriver Idol competition last year and made it as far as semifinals. This year she decided to give it another try and went all the way.

She said she is enjoying every minute. Having achieved this musical milestone in her career, Mata looks forward to future performances.

“It is great to have my musical career back on track,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”