The Music Center named 110 of Southern California’s most talented high school students as semifinalists in The Music Center’s 31st-annual Spotlight (Spotlight) program, a free nationally-acclaimed scholarship and arts training program for teens.
An important part of The Music Center’s fundamental support for arts education, Spotlight is more than a competition. The program provides Southern California high school students the opportunity to acquire the skills they need to pursue their dreams in the performing arts. Students work on the development of their performance abilities in numerous genres, learn about careers in arts management and receive valuable college preparedness and workforce readiness skills.
The Music Center named semifinalists in each of seven categories, including acting, ballet, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental.
Four of the contestants are Idyllwild Arts Academy students: Andrea Hernández, Ballet, 11th grade; William Ju, ninth grade; Geronimo Angel, Non-Classical Voice, 12th grade; and Mark Beebe, Jazz Instrumental, 12th grade.
Semifinalists attend a master class in their genre with highly regarded artists who share their expertise on performance technique, training and professional life. Experts provide students with feedback on their performances, offering them a rich learning experience.
Each semifinalist will audition 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 finalists will perform at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in the Spotlight Grand Finale Performance on June 4.