By Elena Epstein

We’re so excited to bring you some of SoCal’s most talented high school students. This diverse group was recently selected as semifinalists in The Music Center’s 33rd Annual Spotlight, a free nationally acclaimed arts training and scholarship program for teens.

The program offers valuable performance opportunities, audition experiences and mentorship, plus technical and artistic insights taught by professional artists and arts administrators, and awards more than $100,000 in scholarships each year. This year, TMC Arts was re-imagined with an entirely digital and COVID safe platform.

The Music Center named 16 semifinalists in each of the seven categories—acting, ballet, dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental. This year, nearly 1,500 teens representing more than 275 schools, 194 cities and 8 counties auditioned for the prestigious program.

Notable Spotlight alumni include Tony Award winner Lindsay Mendez, American Ballet Theatre’s principal dancer Misty Copeland, Emmy award-winning composer Kris Bowers and recording artists Josh Groban and Adam Lambert, among many others.

“While arts learning remains under pressure in school budgets, The Music Center’s Spotlight is a vibrant program that serves an essential need,” said Rachel S. Moore president and CEO of The Music Center. “Spotlight is a year-long journey with a lifetime of benefits for these young students. We’re very proud that our program offers a comprehensive learning experience that nurtures young artists’ aspirations and supports the next generation of performers and arts professionals.”

Semifinalists have the opportunity to attend a special mastery class in their discipline with highly regarded artists, who share their expertise on performance technique, training and professional life. Experts provide students with valuable feedback on their performances, offering them a rich learning experience. Each semifinalist will audition virtually again before a new panel of judges, who will then select the top two finalist performers in each category for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists. Judges will also name an Honorable Mention in each category. The Grand Prize Finalists will perform in The Music Center’s Spotlight Virtual Grand Finale Performance on May 22, 2021, premiering on The Music Center Offstage digital platform at 7:00 p.m.

The Music Center’s Spotlight program awards more than $100,000 in cash scholarships annually. Semifinalists each receive $300. The eventual Grand Prize Finalists will each receive $5,000 scholarships, plus one Honorable Mention in each category will receive $1,000. The Music Center also celebrates five students in each category with the Merit Award, which acknowledges students who inspire the judges by their commitment and dedication to their art form; Spotlight Merit Award recipients each receive $100.

To help students interested in applying to the Spotlight program, The Music Center launched The Spotlight Academy last summer as an episodic series of online videos and tutorials. Designed for young artists, parents and educators, The Spotlight Academy features 15 webisodes that focus on subjects related to applying for the Spotlight program as well as advice for anyone considering a career in the arts, both on- or offstage. The videos provide a deep dive into the program’s seven categories, and discuss curated topics featuring alumni and experts in the field, including Superstore actress Carla Renata, opera singer Suzanna Guzmán and New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck, among others.

Congratulations to The Music Center’s 33rd Annual Spotlight Program Semifinalists:

Name	Program Name	Home City	School	Grade
Jack Lieberman	Jazz Instrumental	Agoura Hills	Agoura High School	9
Julia Outmesguine	Ballet	Agoura Hills	Oak Park Independent High School	11
Oscar Yum	Classical Voice	Altadena	Flintridge Preparatory	10
Megan Colton	Non-Classical Voice	Arcadia	Arcadia High School	12
Bethany LeBerthon	Acting	Arcadia	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	11
Alon Moradi	Classical Voice	Beverly Hills	Harvard-Westlake (Upper)	12
Gloria Aung	Acting	Bradbury	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Brooklyn Schmidt	Jazz Instrumental	Burbank	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Lillie Owers	Non-Classical Voice	Burbank	California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley	12
Cassidy May Benullo	Non-Classical Voice	Calabasas	Calabasas High School	10
Jacob Speth	Jazz Instrumental	Camarillo	Adolfo Camarillo High School	12
Erin Park	Dance	Chino	Chino Hills High School	9
Sydney Thomas	Dance	Chino Hills	Orange County School of the Arts	11
Ethan Cruz	Non-Classical Voice	Chula Vista	San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts	12
Lucy Cox	Ballet	Claremont	Granite Mountain Charter School	11
Julian Menendez	Dance	Costa Mesa	Costa Mesa High School	11
Fiona Poth	Ballet	Coto de Caza	Avenues Online: The World School	9
Jordan Anderson	Acting	Covina	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Natalie Steele	Ballet	Dana Point	JSerra Catholic High School	9
Kaylah Copeland	Acting	Duarte	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Esther Liu	Classical Instrumental	Fullerton	Fullerton Union High School	12
Adam Takahashi	Ballet	Fullerton	Home Schooled	10
Lucas Sterling	Jazz Instrumental	Glendale	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	11
Lauren Gmelich	Acting	Glendale	Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy	12
Yael Jeshion-Nelson	Acting	Glendale	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Jaedynn Latter	Non-Classical Voice	Huntington Beach	Huntington Beach High School	12
Jack Borenstein	Non-Classical Voice	Huntington Beach	Huntington Beach High School	12
Chloe Capulong	Ballet	Huntington Beach	Home Schooled	11
Chloe Capulong	Dance	Huntington Beach	Home Schooled	11
Shukhrat Turdikhodjaev	Jazz Instrumental	Idyllwild-Pine Cove	Idyllwild Arts Academy	11
Eunice Lee	Classical Instrumental	Irvine	Tustin Connect	12
Zachary Lin	Classical Instrumental	Irvine	University High School (Irvine)	11
Hina Tamaki	Classical Instrumental	Irvine	University High School (Irvine)	12
Allen Cai	Classical Voice	Irvine	Santa Margarita Catholic High School	10
Kevin Corrigan	Classical Voice	Irvine	Woodbridge High School	12
Emma Chen	Ballet	Irvine	Portola High School	10
Emily Okamoto	Ballet	Irvine	Northwood High School	11
Emmy Cheung	Dance	Irvine	Orange County School of the Arts	11
Ella Horan	Dance	Irvine	University High School (Irvine)	10
Emily Okamoto	Dance	Irvine	Northwood High School	11
Hana Uehara	Dance	Irvine	Orange County School of the Arts	10
Kailyn Yi	Dance	Irvine	Orange County School of the Arts	11
Tess Alexander	Classical Voice	La Cañada Flintridge	La Canada High School	11
Kangsan Kim	Classical Voice	La Habra	Orange County School of the Arts	11
Natalia Burns	Ballet	Ladera Ranch	San Juan Hills High School	12
Chase Rogers	Ballet	Ladera Ranch	San Juan Hills High School	10
Kate Lin	Non-Classical Voice	Laguna Niguel	Home Schooled	11
Santiago Lopez	Jazz Instrumental	Long Beach	Los Alamitos High School	12
Max Nguyen	Jazz Instrumental	Los Alamitos	Los Alamitos High School	11
Fengyang (William) Ju	Classical Instrumental	Los Angeles	Colburn Music Academy	11
Cole Turkel	Classical Instrumental	Los Angeles	Oak Crest Academy	12
Dominik Yoder	Classical Instrumental	Los Angeles	Sky Mountain Charter School	12
Elder Gindroz	Jazz Instrumental	Los Angeles	Hamilton High School	12
Declan Houlihan	Jazz Instrumental	Los Angeles	Hamilton High School	12
Kai Suzuki	Jazz Instrumental	Los Angeles	El Segundo High School	12
Joshua Wong	Jazz Instrumental	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Sophie Pollono	Non-Classical Voice	Los Angeles	Chaminade College Preparatory High School – Canoga	10
Leilani Patao	Non-Classical Voice	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	11
Akira Sky	Non-Classical Voice	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Karina Constantinides	Non-Classical Voice	Los Angeles	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Stephen Moran	Acting	Los Angeles	Ramon C. Cortines High School	12
Hannah Nordberg	Acting	Los Angeles	Campbell Hall	11
Tovah Zafrin	Acting	Los Angeles	Ramon C. Cortines High School	12
Ava Louise Winer	Ballet	Los Angeles	Marlborough School	11
Sophia Papouchado	Jazz Instrumental	Manhattan Beach	Vistamar School	10
Hannah Bogen	Acting	Manhattan Beach	Chadwick School	12
Claire Buchi	Ballet	Manhattan Beach	Chadwick School	10
Gunner Stephens	Dance	Murrieta	Murrieta Mesa High School	11
Catherine Johnston	Classical Voice	Newport Beach	Orange County School of the Arts – OCSA	12
Sydney Shepherd	Acting	Norwalk	Ilead Hybrid	12
Selena Hamilton	Dance	Norwalk	Home Schooled	11
Cielo Valenzuela	Acting	Pasadena	California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley	11
Alexandra Cook	Classical Voice	Rancho Santa Margarita	Mission Viejo High School	12
Mi-Hyun Suh	Classical Instrumental	Rowland Heights	Diamond Bar High School	12
Anais Feller	Classical Instrumental	San Diego	Classical Academy High School	10
Fantasia Guerra-Rivera	Classical Voice	San Diego	Chula Vista Senior High School	12
Flora Yuan	Classical Voice	San Diego	Del Norte High School	11
Rachael Hudak	Dance	San Diego	Westview High School	12
Grace Li	Dance	San Diego	Canyon Crest Academy	10
Luc Simpson	Dance	San Diego	iHigh Virtual Academy	12
Nicole Lam	Classical Instrumental	San Gabriel	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	12
Bridget Phillips	Acting	San Juan Capistrano	Orange County School of the Arts	11
Grace Navarro	Classical Voice	San Marino	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	11
Ava Kuntz	Classical Voice	Santa Ana	Orange County School of the Arts	12
Emma Reed	Non-Classical Voice	Santa Clarita	Canyon High School – Canyon Country	12
Andrew Bond	Acting	Santa Clarita	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	11
Francine Mae Peji	Dance	Santa Clarita	Valencia High School	12
William Schwartzman	Jazz Instrumental	Santa Monica	Santa Monica High School	10
Milla Moretti	Classical Voice	Santa Monica	Santa Monica High School	11
Chloe Stavis	Classical Voice	Santa Monica	Santa Monica High School	11
Matthew Thorson	Classical Voice	Santa Monica	Santa Monica High School	11
JJ Lybbert	Jazz Instrumental	Seal Beach	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	10
Allison Park	Classical Instrumental	Sherman Oaks	Harvard-Westlake (Upper)	12
Jessie Franks	Acting	Sierra Madre	California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley	12
Daniel Wang	Classical Instrumental	Simi Valley	Westlake High School	10
Abigail Wyrrick	Ballet	Thousand Oaks	Blue Ridge Academy	10
Mei Hotta	Classical Instrumental	Torrance	Home Schooled	12
David Lee	Jazz Instrumental	Torrance	Orange County School of the Arts	12
Kennedy Percival	Non-Classical Voice	Upland	Home Schooled	10
Kevin Cho	Classical Instrumental	Valencia	West Ranch High School	12
Christian Dorey	Non-Classical Voice	West Covina	California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley	12
Nicholas Kim	Classical Instrumental	West Hills	Agoura High School	12
Lulu Royce	Acting	West Hollywood	Los Angeles County High School for the Arts	11
Abigail Thompson	Non-Classical Voice	Westlake Village	Westlake High School	12
Mia Schlosser	Ballet	Westlake Village	Westlake High School	9
Daniel Bae	Classical Instrumental	Whittier	IQ Academy California	12
Gianna Pedregon	Jazz Instrumental	Whittier	Orange County School of the Arts	12
Robyn Morales	Non-Classical Voice	Wildomar	Murrieta Valley High School	12
Robyn Morales	Classical Voice	Wildomar	Murrieta Valley High School	12
Keara Nichols	Ballet	Winchester	Home Schooled	12
Chloe Kinzler	Ballet	Winnetka	Granada Hills Charter High School	11
Mallory McKenna	Dance	Yorba Linda	Orange County School of the Arts	10

For more information about The Music Center’s Spotlight program, visit musiccenter.org/spotlight.