Idyllwild Arts Academy bassoonist Preston Atkins, who was featured in last week’s Town Crier, is a semifinalist in The Music Center’s 34th annual Spotlight program, a free performing arts competition, scholarship and artistic development program for teens.
The Los Angeles program recognizes and rewards all participants throughout the competition with a range of benefits such as individual feedback from industry professionals, performance opportunities and more than $100,000 in cash awards through three rounds of auditions.
This year, more than 1,300 teens representing more than 256 schools, 181 cities and 8 counties auditioned for the prestigious program.
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 also will name an honorable mention in each category. The grand prize finalists will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre.