Los Angeles – The Music Center has unveiled the semifinalists for its 36th Annual Spotlight program, showcasing 114 exceptional high school students from Southern California. This renowned performing arts competition and scholarship initiative, attracting over 1,520 applicants from 265 schools, provide teens with professional guidance, coaching, and valuable performance opportunities.
Highlights:
- Diverse Participation: With representation from 177 cities and eight counties, Spotlight draws talent from across Southern California, fostering a rich cultural exchange.
- $100,000+ in Scholarships: The program offers more than $100,000 in cash awards, supporting the aspirations of young artists as they pursue their passion in seven categories.
- Expert Feedback: Distinguished judges provide written feedback to all participants after each audition, ensuring a learning experience that goes beyond the competition.
- Grand Finale: The 14 Grand Prize Finalists will compete at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.
The Music Center’s Spotlight program has awarded over $2.8 million in scholarships since its inception in 1988, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of more than 54,000 high school students. Notable alumni include Misty Copeland, Adam Lambert, Josh Groban, and Emmy® Award-winning composer Kris Bowers.
For more information about The Music Center’s Spotlight program, including a complete list of semifinalists, visit musiccenter.org/spotlight.
The Music Center’s 36th Annual Spotlight Semifinalists
| HOME CITY | FULL NAME | PROGRAM NAME | SCHOOL | GRADE |
| Agoura Hills | Charles French | Contemporary Instrumental | Agoura High School | 11 |
| Agoura Hills | Jordan Klein | Contemporary Instrumental | Agoura High School | 11 |
| Agoura Hills | Jack Lieberman | Contemporary Instrumental | Agoura High School | 12 |
| Altadena | Salvatore Lodi | Ballet | Excellence In Education Academy | 12 |
| Arcadia | Jiayi Xu | Classical Instrumental | Arcadia High School | 10 |
| Burbank | Jane Hasty | Non-Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 10 |
| Burbank | Lorenzo Luppi | Contemporary Instrumental | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 11 |
| Burbank | Emerson Riley | Non-Classical Voice | John Burroughs High School | 12 |
| Calabasas | Riley Eichberg | Non-Classical Voice | Calabasas High School | 11 |
| Canyon Lake | Jailen Bates | Acting | California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley | 12 |
| Carlsbad | Blanche Pizzurro | Dance | San Marcos High School | 10 |
| Carlsbad | Caroline Skrable | Dance | Carlsbad High School | 12 |
| Chino Hills | Joseph Yoo | Classical Instrumental | Diamond Bar High School | 11 |
| Chula Vista | Quentin Davis | Acting | San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts | 12 |
| Chula Vista | Mia Rivera | Non-Classical Voice | San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts | 12 |
| Claremont | Meghan Linnington | Classical Voice | California Connections Academy | 12 |
| Corona | Clara Riggs | Ballet | Epic Charter School | 10 |
| Diamond Bar | Jesse Hu | Classical Instrumental | Diamond Bar High School | 10 |
| Diamond Bar | Amy Jong | Classical Instrumental | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Downey | Celine Bautista | Non-Classical Voice | Downey High School | 9 |
| El Segundo | Milena Vanek | Acting | El Segundo High School | 11 |
| Fountain Valley | Bailey Curtis | Non-Classical Voice | Huntington Beach High School | 12 |
| Fullerton | Madison Becerra | Classical Voice | Orange County School of the Arts | 11 |
| Fullerton | Isabella Kim | Acting | Orange County School of the Arts | 11 |
| Fullerton | David Lim | Contemporary Instrumental | Idyllwild Arts Academy | 10 |
| Huntington Beach | Aubrey Banaag | Ballet | Orange County School of the Arts | 9 |
| Idyllwild | Adin Joseph | Dance | Idyllwild Arts Academy | 11 |
| Inglewood | Kalai Brockington | Non-Classical Voice | Ramon C. Cortines High School | 12 |
| Irvine | Aimee Cho | Ballet | Crean Lutheran High School | 12 |
| Irvine | Aimee Cho | Dance | Crean Lutheran High School | 12 |
| Irvine | Minji Choi | Classical Instrumental | Northwood High School | 9 |
| Irvine | Diane Doberstein | Ballet | Woodbridge High School | 10 |
| Irvine | Asher Hinton | Non-Classical Voice | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Irvine | Isabella (Izzy) Howard | Ballet | Nevada Learning Academy | 10 |
| Irvine | Isabella (Izzy) Howard | Dance | Nevada Learning Academy | 10 |
| Irvine | Michelle Lu | Ballet | Portola High School | 11 |
| Irvine | Logan Macy | Dance | Orange County School of the Arts | 9 |
| Irvine | Ian Shin | Contemporary Instrumental | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Irvine | Isabella Silva | Dance | Orange County School of the Arts | 10 |
| Irvine | Nathan Tatsuta | Contemporary Instrumental | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Irvine | Genevieve Velarde | Classical Voice | Irvine High School | 12 |
| Irvine | Towako Wunsch | Ballet | Irvine High School | 12 |
| Irvine | Jeffrey Yang | Classical Voice | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Irvine | Kyle Yeung | Classical Instrumental | Pacific Academy, Irvine | 10 |
| Irvine | Kailey Yun | Classical Instrumental | Arnold O. Beckman High School | 12 |
| Irvine | Helaine Zhao | Classical Instrumental | Pacific Academy, Irvine | 12 |
| La Jolla | Emma Donnelly | Dance | The Bishop’s School Will Parsons | 11 |
| Laguna Niguel | Pavel Kulev | Ballet | Cabrillo Point Academy | 12 |
| Lake Forest | Viveka Saravanan | Classical Voice | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Long Beach | Alfredo-Totocani Garcia | Ballet | Homeschooled | 12 |
| Long Beach | Chloe Ness | Classical Voice | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Lauren Ashley | Non-Classical Voice | Venice High School | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Anaiya Asomugha | Acting | The Archer School for Girls | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Isabelle Balderrama | Classical Voice | Louisville High School | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Asher Bartfeld | Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Nola Bowie | Acting | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Jesse Brasler | Non-Classical Voice | Calabasas High School | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Jesse Brasler | Acting | Calabasas High School | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Matilda Luz Concha Pearson | Non-Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 10 |
| Los Angeles | Lena Embry | Non-Classical Voice | California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Calder Feinstein | Ballet | Homeschooled | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Sadie Ferguson | Dance | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Roy Kim | Classical Voice | Campbell Hall | 10 |
| Los Angeles | Taylor Lee | Contemporary Instrumental | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Sophie Leung | Classical Instrumental | Oak Crest Academy | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Hawkins Meek | Acting | Village Christian Schools | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Ariel Meron | Contemporary Instrumental | Harvard-Westlake Upper School | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Micah MikoLevine | Acting | Westridge School – Upper School | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Harry Orenstein | Acting | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Nathan Pak | Classical Instrumental | Taft High School | 10 |
| Los Angeles | Julian Pankowski | Non-Classical Voice | Van Nuys Senior High School | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Dilan Patton | Classical Voice | Van Nuys Senior High School | 10 |
| Los Angeles | Dilan Patton | Non-Classical Voice | Van Nuys Senior High School | 10 |
| Los Angeles | Hayden Radonsky | Acting | Beverly Hills High School | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Mae Ryness | Acting | California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Samuel Siskind | Classical Voice | Lindamood-Bell Academy | 11 |
| Los Angeles | Kai Spatzier | Contemporary Instrumental | Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies | 12 |
| Los Angeles | Kai Wright | Non-Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 11 |
| Mission Viejo | Gracyn French | Dance | Mission Viejo High School | 9 |
| Mission Viejo | Keilah Park | Classical Instrumental | Orange County School of the Arts – OCSA | 11 |
| Monterey Park | Skyla Woodard | Non-Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 12 |
| Monterey Park | Skyla Woodard | Acting | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 12 |
| Oak Park | Max Gilbert | Contemporary Instrumental | Agoura High School | 12 |
| Oak Park | Gavin Russell | Contemporary Instrumental | Agoura High School | 12 |
| Orange | Jonathan Archer | Dance | Orange County School of the Arts | 9 |
| Orange | Preston Walker | Ballet | Orange County School of the Arts | 10 |
| Pasadena | Trinity Dela Cruz | Classical Voice | Marshall Fundamental School | 12 |
| Pasadena | Isabelle Lin | Ballet | Polytechnic High School | 10 |
| Pasadena | Callie Chae Pyken | Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 10 |
| Pasadena | Callie Chae Pyken | Non-Classical Voice | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 10 |
| Pasadena | Callie Chae Pyken | Acting | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 10 |
| Placentia | Savannah Tweedt | Contemporary Instrumental | Orange County School of the Arts | 12 |
| Riverside | Kayla McCarty | Acting | Ramona High School | 11 |
| San Diego | Amelie Bott-Suzuki | Ballet | California Connections Academy | 9 |
| San Diego | Amelie Bott-Suzuki | Dance | California Connections Academy | 9 |
| San Diego | Evonne Fangao | Classical Voice | The Cambridge School | 9 |
| San Diego | Amara McDuffie | Acting | San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts | 11 |
| San Diego | Daniel Torrero | Classical Instrumental | Scripps Ranch High | 12 |
| San Marino | Emilia Bernstein | Classical Voice | San Marino High School | 10 |
| San Marino | Ruoxin (Cindy) Jia | Classical Instrumental | San Marino High School | 12 |
| Santa Ana | Andrea Martínez | Dance | Orange County School of the Arts | 11 |
| Santa Clarita | Emma Rose Crawford | Dance | Laurel Springs School | 11 |
| Santa Clarita | Ananya Joseph | Dance | Academy of the Canyons | 9 |
| Santa Clarita | Vinay Sundar | Classical Instrumental | Valencia High School | 12 |
| Santa Monica | Jaxson Glowacki | Classical Voice | Brentwood High School | 12 |
| Seal Beach | Ariel Tello | Dance | Orange County School of the Arts | 10 |
| Simi Valley | Luciano Soriano | Contemporary Instrumental | Westlake High School | 12 |
| South Pasadena | Holly Lacey | Classical Instrumental | South Pasadena High School | 11 |
| Temecula | Lane Whitehurst | Ballet | Mission Vista Academy | 10 |
| Temple City | Alvin Wang | Classical Instrumental | California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley | 12 |
| Thousand Oaks | Saoirse Sipes | Contemporary Instrumental | Thousand Oaks High School | 10 |
| Torrance | Joaquin Garde | Contemporary Instrumental | Los Angeles County High School for the Arts | 11 |
| Torrance | Mai Ishiyama | Ballet | Excel High School | 10 |
| Yorba Linda | Megan Reta | Dance | El Dorado High School | 10 |