The six Star Contestants and local community leaders performing in Desert Ensemble theatres Singing With the Desert Stars on October 7 are pictured left to right Winston Gieseke, Shay Moraga, Joe Zakowski, Christine Tringali Nunes, Jeffrey Norman, and Charles Huff.

DLNews Entertainment:

Palm Springs -Desert Ensemble Theater is excited to announce that the inaugural year of its new season opening fundraiser, Singing with the Desert Stars, was a sellout! This one-night-only evening of song, held on October 7 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, benefited DET’s Theatre Education and Scholarship program.

Christine Tringali Nunes is the Winning Star Contestant seen amongst her fellow Star Contestants at Desert Ensemble Theatre Singing With the Desert Stars benefit on October 7. 

Singing with the Desert Stars brought together six popular local professional singers to coach six local community leaders to sing and perform at their best. The winning Star Contestant, Christine Tringali Nunes, was determined by the audience; her Star Coach was Lizzie Schmelling. The other Star Coach/Star Contestant pairings include; Jeff Barnett with Jeffrey Norman, Darci Daniels with Charles Huff, Patrick Evans with Joe Zakowski, Charles Herrera with Winston Gieseke, and Leslie Tinnaro with Shay Moraga.

The Producers of Singing With the Desert Stars, Executive Director of Desert Ensemble Theatre (DET) Shawn Abramowitz, DET Publicist, and benefit creator Danny Kopeson, Artistic Director of DET Jerome Elliott Moskowitz 

The performance opened with a welcome by DET’s Executive Director, Shawn Abramowitz. DET’s Artistic Director, Jerome Elliott Moskowitz, was Host for the evening, with music direction provided by Constance Gordy. Danny Kopelson conceived this event. Donors enjoyed a pre-performance cocktail reception catered by Eight4Nine, a fast-paced 90-minute performance, and a post-show champagne and dessert celebration.

Singing With the Desert Stars supports DET’s Education and Scholarship Program, where local high school interns gain practical, on-the-job experience in many aspects of technical theatre. When these interns graduate, they qualify for a DET-sponsored scholarship. Since its inception in 2012, DET has awarded $21,000 in financial aid, helping to support the cost of higher education. After graduating college, many interns have returned to become professional staff members of DET, while others have gone on to careers in the industry.

In 2021, DET moved its theatre space from the Palm Springs Woman’s Club into the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Despite the move and the challenges of the pandemic, DET still broke all attendance records and received a record-breaking 31 Desert Theatre League Award nominations. In addition, the upcoming Season 12 “West Coast Originals” will feature playwrights exclusively from the West Coast.  

Event Sponsors include Eight4Nine, Palm Springs Cultural Center, Bright Event Rentals, My Little Flower Shop, KESQ News Channel 3, KGAY, and Coachella Valley Independent News. DET’s Season Sponsor is The General.