NEW YORK -- Gina Incandela has a pretty packed schedule of singing appearances these days.

The six-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., sang “The Star Spangled Banner” at several Major League Baseball spring training games earlier this year, as well as at a Mets game in May, and she has a Houston Astros game and a Florida Marlins game also on her itinerary of singing engagements for this summer.

And the list does not stop there. In fact, Incandela is pretty booked through November.

However, one more event she would like to add is the opportunity to sing at the 2008 US Open. Incandela was one of 189 children, 12 years of age and younger, who auditioned at the US Open Casting Call at Radio City Music Hall on Monday for the chance to sing a musical selection as selected by the USTA during one of the sessions of the 2008 US Open, to be held Aug. 25-Sept. 7.

All the contestants sang for the panel of celebrity judges, including Constantine Maroulis, an American Idol Season IV finalist; Laura Bell Bundy, who currently stars as Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" on Broadway; and Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003, who recently appeared as host of ABC Family’s new reality show “America’s Prom Queen.”

Approximately 15-20 finalists will be selected before the end of July. Only those selected will be contacted at a later date to be determined at the sole discretion of the USTA.

It is an amazing feat for any six-year-old to be in such high demand for singing, but it is even more incredible for Incandela, given that she could not even speak until three years ago. She has an autistic disorder and just started talking around the age of three. After doing music therapy at school, she began vocalizing notes when she was three and even more at age four.

But anyone who hears Incandela sing now would never guess she has just been singing and talking for a short time.

Gina’s four-year-old sister Lexi was also in line to audition, accompanied by their parents and grandfather. They were the No. 3 and No. 4 contestants on line, dressed in matching red, white and blue dresses with sparkling red shoes, although Lexi later decided not to sing. With the casting call now in its second year, the Incandelas heard about the audition at an Orlando Predators game at which Gina sang.

“We decided to come up and give it a try,” her mother, Michelle Incandela, said of the casting call. “People are amazed she has only been talking a short time. It has been a fantastic ride. I’m just happy to hear my kid’s voice. That she can sing, we’re ahead of the game.”

“My favorite part (of performing) is singing everywhere,” Gina said.

Just ahead of the Incandelas on the line were 12-year-olds Cameron Harris of Short Hills, N.J., and Kayla Castellano of Tampa, Fla.

Harris was the first contestant on the line outside Radio City Music Hall Monday morning with her mother Joan. The two had arrived at 6:30 a.m., but Cameron’s aunt, Susan Bilotta, was there at 4 a.m. holding her place in line.

When the doors opened, contestants and their parents or legal guardians first stopped to have their identification checked to make sure they were of the proper age and were accompanied and next proceeded inside to the lobby to fill out paperwork and have their pictures taken at the Olympus photo booth.

Then in groups of eight to 10, they were brought downstairs for their chance to audition. One at a time, they went behind the curtains to the audition area, and after a quick picture, most sang “America the Beautiful.” The USTA reserved the right to request the participants to perform alternate music compositions, and some of them sang “The Star Spangled Banner” instead.

Harris came to the audition after Bilotta, a huge tennis fan, told Joan she had to bring Cameron to the casting call to try out. Harris, who just tried out for a choir in New Jersey and was in several plays recently, including "Fiddler on the Roof" in her middle school, was a hit with the judges.

“It went well,” Harris said of her audition of “America the Beautiful.” “Laura said, ‘Nice way to belt it out.’”

For Castellano, this was her first time in New York City, and she could not wait to get here. She was on line with her family around 4:15 a.m. It was her godmother’s sister, Sandie Capifali, who lives in Peekskill, N.Y., who told the Castellanos about the audition.

Castellano has been in several operas in Tampa and recently had the lead role in "Annie" at her local theater. She was thrilled to be in New York and sing but also to meet Maroulis.

“Singing is all I want to do. I come home from school, and I sing and practice and practice,” Castellano said. “I want to move here (to New York). I want to do this (sing at the US Open) so bad.”

Like Castellano, 11-year-old Calen Santos was also on his first trip to New York after his first-ever plane ride from his hometown of Dothan, Ala.

Santos, who has his own CD of Southern Gospel music, was one of the last contestants of the day and wowed the judges with his rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Since it is a long song, there was not time for many contestants to sing the whole thing, but Bundy especially requested that he finish it.

He arrived at the audition with his parents and vocal teacher, thanks to many people in the town of Dothan, who ran fundraisers and donated money – including $1,000 from one sponsor – to help the family pay for the costs of traveling to and staying in New York for the audition.

“A woman we know told us there is this audition up in New York for the US Open,” Santos said. “We said we might as well try. I felt I sang pretty good (today), and it made me feel good (that Bundy asked him to finish the song).”

He has never been to the US Open before but is a fan of former US Open champions Venus and Serena Williams, as well as Maria Sharapova.

Among the contestants were also some of last year’s casting call finalists, including Mac Ayres, Brooke Demetri and Gabrielle Zimmerman – all hoping once again to be chosen.

Both Ayres and Demetri are from Long Island, and their fathers are friends. Although Ayres, 11, and Demetri, 9, live in Sea Cliff and Glen Head, respectively, they are in the same school district.

Unlike many of the contestants, Ayres does not regularly sing or perform. In fact, this was just his second audition ever – his first being the US Open Casting Call last year.

During the 2007 US Open, he sang "America the Beautiful" in an evening session during the second round of the tournament, between Sharapova and James Blake’s matches. He loved the whole experience and had a chance to meet Blake.

“The whole experience is really fun. Once you make it, you get to go to all these photo shoots,” Ayres said. “And the night of your song, you walk around then, and everyone recognizes you. You’re famous for a day.”
He was shocked and thrilled to see Maroulis, his favorite American Idol contestant, as one of the judges and had his picture taken with him. And as a big tennis fan, he hopes if he is chosen for the US Open this year that he gets to meet his favorite player – four-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal.

Demetri sang before Roger Federer’s quarterfinal match at the 2007 US Open and even got to briefly meet the world’s No. 1 player. After loving the experience, she not only wanted to come back this year but also asked her mother, Sophia, to sign her up for tennis lessons.

“I met a couple of friends this year and last year, and I didn’t even notice the line moved,” Demetri, who performs in many school plays, said. “Just auditioning I had the time of my life last year. (The US Open performance) was fun because I always like to sing in front of big crowds.”

Zimmerman, 10, of Cherry Hill, N.J., had the honor of performing twice at the 2007 US Open. First, she sang during the women’s semifinals and then opened for Carole King before the women’s final between Justine Henin and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Federer and Blake are her favorite players, and she even got a high five and a "good job" compliment from Blake last year.

“It was the most incredible experience of my life – the crowd giving you a standing ovation,” she said.

Another entertaining part of the day for the contestants and their parents was a hilarious spoof from the now-retired Justin Gimelstob. The former American star stopped by the auditions as a way to "get back to the US Open" now that he is no longer competing.

After persuading his way in at the front desk (as there was a 12-year-old age limit), he then waited with other contestants in the lobby and sang "America the Beautiful" to heavy critiques from the judges, who cited his having to read the sheet music as a serious performance flaw.

The other contestants loved the spoof, and several took pictures with Gimelstob.

Once contestant No. 189 finished her audition, the judges reflected on the performances they had seen, which began at 9 a.m. and ended around 2:30 p.m. They were all impressed with the quality of talent they had seen and agreed that while decision making would be difficult, a few kids stuck out in their minds.

“I was surprised at how well the kids handled themselves,” Bundy said. “Some just blew us away.”

“It was really special, and it is great that all these kids came out today,” added Maroulis.