CRESCENDO SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST

Sergio Vellatti, with his commanding vocal abilities, brings to life the class and charm of the Big-Band Era, delivering well-known standards with a youthful effortlessness and wit that makes each interpretation authentic and new.

Growing up in Los Angeles, the soundscapes heard in Disney theme parks and animated works captured his young imagination. With a tape recorder in hand, Sergio would devise his own elaborate narrations, involving plot, characters and music. By Junior high school he began to explore his musical interests by joining the band to play clarinet, and later switching to drums in the high school marching band. Unlike most of his peers, he gravitated toward the sounds of big band, jazz and American popular music. Fast-forward to his mid-twenties, curious to explore the boundaries of his voice, Sergio began to sing. He quickly caught the attention of some industry notables, launching him into a concentrated effort, and eventually abandoning his career in civil engineering in order to pursue this new-found passion.

Sergio has gone on to perform at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater with the Pacific Symphony, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Dolby Theatre, Cicada Club, Jonathan Club and Disneyland Resort. On tour, Sergio’s appearances have included Wynn Las Vegas, The Moana Surfrider Resort in Hawaii, and the Kravis Center and Peabody Auditorium in Florida. In public and private performances, his talents have been acknowledged by well-known names that include P!nk, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Shirley Jones, Mickey Rooney, Harrison Ford, Stevie Wonder, Bill Gates and Katy Perry.

CRESCENDO EMCEE MATT ROGERS WANTS YOU TO FEEL JOY, LAUGH MORE

By Zandra Wolfgram

Matt Rogers was 5 years old when he got his first laugh.

“I was addicted to making people laugh. I wanted to be a comedian,” he confesses.

Nearly 40 years later and this passionate, kind, and funny auctioneer/performer is still lighting up a room in hopes of making a difference.

Before this California native commanded attention on stage at gala events, he put his 6’5” frame to work as an offensive lineman for the University of Washington. After school, he used his vocal cords as a sports broadcaster covering top college teams. In 2010, he moved to California and big things began to happen, literally. He was cast as the host of the Discovery Channel’s Really Big Things, a show that spotlighted big things like a huge hydrogen partial collider in Germany. He hosted Lifetime’s Coming Home, a program reuniting military families. He made appearances on The Price is Right and Family Feud and was a finalist on American Idol. In 2021, a dream came true when the Spring Hill, Tennessee resident beat out 200 contenders to become the official “voice” of the Tennessee Titans, Rogers’ favorite home team.

“I want to people to feel joy, give more and laugh more. I’m all about making the room better,” he says.

He’s also about making his family feel better. He and his wife, Teri, have four children Brayden, 16, Mason, 14, Samantha, 8, and Brooklyn, an infant. The three youngest were born with Cystic

Fibrosis (CF), an uncurable disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body. Rogers was at a 2009 fundraiser for CF when he was first asked to emcee.

“I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I got the crowd involved, and they had a blast,” Rogers says. Clearly Rogers was doing something right. The event raised three times as much as the previous year. Soon, Make A Wish Foundation and Susan Komen Foundation were calling and Rogers’ career as a professional auctioneer was launched.

More than a decade later, Rogers has hosted more than 1,000 events including. Since 2019, after hosting Crescendo several years running, you could say he has been the voice of Sinfonia Gulf Coast. Whether hosting a TV show, announcing a football play, or auctioneering, Rogers loves to entertain.

“I love being on stage,” Rogers says. “I was always the kid trying out for the church and school plays. I was singing victory opera in my jock strap in the locker room after the games. Though I love all music from Christian to rap, I’m not a musician. I am a performer.”

As much as he loves the spotlight, that’s not what keeps this big-hearted emcee coming back.

“I love people,” he says. “I love to show people how to have a good time. Whether you are a billionaire or have a $200 budget, you are looking for a good time — and both of you deserve all I have.”

Rogers returns to host a range of annual events from small town spaghetti suppers to A-list celebrity galas. But Sinfonia has a special place in his heart.

Rogers has traveled the world hosting events and he believes Sinfonia events are set apart.

“I am impressed with Sinfonia. The team, starting with Demetrius Fuller, is first class. How you do anything is how you do everything and the way he treats me, the orchestra kids, people at events — everyone gets first class treatment,” Rogers says.

“The Gulf Coast community is unlike any in America. It’s very special,” Rogers says. “There aren’t many Sinfonias. If you want to see the most influential people and decision makers in the Panhandle, you need to go to Sinfonia events. When you have an opportunity to be around the most influential people who are looking for what they can give versus what they can get, it’s a gamechanger. On top of that, because the most influential people are there are going to get a 5-star experience from the food to the entertainment.”