STATE OF THE ART

Sein Yun (IM, ‘22) was selected to participate in a month-long residency in New York City as a violinist for the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra. Sein is among more than 200 artists who have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as the finest young musicians in the country, following a comprehensive and highly selective audition process.

Regan Mading's (IA, ‘23) piece "The Lack of Education Regarding Epinephrine Is Nuts" received an honorable mention in The New York Times eighth annual Student Editorial Contest. It was one of 52 essays chosen from more than 11,000 entries.

Adrienne Amanda Morrow (MT, ‘25) was cast in the role of Freddy and as the understudy for the role of Katie in "School of Rock: The Musical" at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in St. George, Utah. The show features the first-ever kids rock band playing their instruments live on-stage.

Violet Adams (VA, ‘24) received an honorable mention for her watercolor painting in the U.S. House of Representatives 2021 Congressional Art Competition. U.S. Representative Young Kim, representing California’s 39th District, presented the award.

James Yi (CW, ‘24) was offered a Scholastic Awards Summer (SAS) Scholarship to attend Writopia Lab’s Full-Day Camp.

The following students were awarded overall superior ratings in the 2021 State and International Thespian Festivals.

International Competition:
Acting Monologue
Jacki Vellandi (ACT, ‘22)

Playwriting
Bridget Phillips (MT, ‘22)

Solo Musical
Mia Geise (MT, ‘24)

State Competition:
Acting Duet
Hope Lee (ACT, ‘26) and Alexandra Sprague (ACT, ‘26)

Group Musical
Ana Sofia Gomez Garza (MT, ‘25)
Shayla Knihtila (ACT, ‘26)
Lana Lee (IA, ‘26)
Hope Lee (ACT, ‘26)
Hailey Perng (ACT, ‘26)
Alexandra Sprague (ACT, ‘26)
Erin Tardibuono (MT, ‘25)

Monologue
Bridget Phillips (MT, ‘22)
Erin Tardibuono (MT, ‘25)
Jacki Vellandi (ACT, ‘22)

Musical Solo
Meghan Barton (MT, ‘23)
Mia Geise (MT, ‘24)
Shayla Knihtila (ACT, ‘26)
Jacki Vellandi (ACT, ‘22)

Jacki Vellandi (ACT, ‘22) was awarded first place in the Playwriting category at the International Thespian Excellence Awards for her play "Reverie" and received the Grace Kelly Scholarship.

Sammie Gee (CAH, ‘24) was recognized for culinary excellence, artistry, presentation, and service for original handcrafted hors d'oeuvres at OC Wonderland.

The following students placed in the California Restaurant Foundation’s Prostart Cup Competition and competed against 27 other high schools and 194 students.

Culinary:
Wienerschnitzel's Dress Your Dog Competition
1st place: Madison "Star" Lu (CAH, ‘22)
2nd place: Naya Garg (CAH, ‘24)

Taco Throwdown
2nd place: Naya Garg (CAH, ‘24)

Cupcake Bake-Off
2nd place: Natalie Dixon (CAH, ‘22)

Management:
Create + Curate: Original Menu
1st place: Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21)

Branding Challenge: Logo + Marketing
1st place: Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21)
3rd place: Madison "Star" Lu (CAH, ‘22)

Design Challenge: Floorplan + Decor
1st place: Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21)
2nd place: Madison "Star" Lu (CAH, ‘22)

Zabby Bagnol (PD, ‘24) was recognized by the Orange County Human Relations Commission’s To Know Better Contest for outstanding community arts efforts related to the rise in hate against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zabby was awarded $500 for her submission. Zabby also designed the costumes, makeup, and set at OC Steampunk Wonderland.

West Mulholland (ACT, ‘23) was cast in the role of Axel on season five of "Animal Kingdom" on TNT.

The following students received a cumulative total of 113 gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Dancesport category at the West Coast Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games. Some dancers also represented OCSA as Junior Olympic Ambassadors.

Hannah Ayala (BR, ‘23)
Jude Camaya (BR, ‘23) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Gabriel Cho (BR, ‘24) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Presley Herthel (BR, ‘27)
Jack Hillebrecht (BR, ‘27)
Grace Kim (BR, ‘22) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Jared Lee (BR, ‘23) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Natalia Lin (BR, ‘22) - Junior Olympic Ambassador and National Anthem Vocalist
Sophie Ma (BR, ‘23) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Colton McCann (BR, ‘22) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Isabelle Miranda (BR, ‘21)
Samantha Okada-Lam (BR, ‘26)
Aurelia Philmore (BR, ‘24)
Marina Pitt (BR, ‘27)
Joshua Qin (BR, ‘23) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Meghan Reardon (BR, ‘24)
Ambria Shields (BR, ‘27)
Brody Silva (BR, ‘25)
Sean Sulit (BR, ‘24)
Jeffrey Tadeo (BR, ‘22)
Jericho Tran-Faypon (BR, ‘22) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Hana Uehara (BR, ‘23) - Junior Olympic Ambassador
Celeste Valadez (BR, ‘24)
Alexander Vargas (BR, ‘24)
Melissa Yan (BR, ‘23)

Zoe Hebbard (IA, ‘21) performed the lead role of Eva in South Coast Repertory's production of the play "Snow Angel."

Garrett Wirth (CV, ‘26) received an honorable mention in Classical Voice and Theater from the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) San Diego Branch VOCE Competition.

Syona McEligot (MT, ‘25) performed in an Arts and Learning Conservatory production of Once on This Island, Jr. She played the role of the narrator and danced in a majority of the numbers.

Luna Zamora (CV, ‘24) was cast in the guest starring role of Gabby on the Nickelodeon show Blaze and the Monster Machines.

Matthew Garbacz (MT, ‘23) plays the role of John Deacon, bassist and backup singer, in The Kings of Queen, a professional Queen tribute band.

Maya Alvarez-Coyne (CMD, ‘21) was crowned Miss California’s Outstanding Teen and received first place in both talent and interview categories.

Elsa Chang (VA, ‘06) participated in a Comic-Con@Home panel for her work on “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” and the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. To view the full panel, please visit: https://bit.ly/3gwDwVB

Zoe McCuen (DM, ‘19) illustrated the book Kid and the Magic Orb, which is now available on Amazon. Zoe was also featured in an article on the CalArts blog. To read the article, visit: https://bit.ly/3jfnYag

Former Director of the Popular Music Conservatory Rachel Kramer received the 2021 Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader Award from Arts School Network (ASN) for elevating the conservatory to a new level of excellence and providing an exceptional learning environment for OCSA students. The Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton Emerging Leader Award is designed to recognize excellence and achievement among rising arts schools administrators and to highlight the innovative educational practices or programs of those leaders.

The following students participated in the Fred Astaire World Championships and received the following awards.

Amateur Championship Youth Smooth
1st Place: Jacqueline Artinian (BR, ‘22) and Lucas McCollum Van Hoosear (BR, ‘22)
2nd Place: Jude Camaya (BR, ‘23) and Meghan Reardon (BR, ‘24)

Pro-Am Open Smooth Scholarship
1st Place: Jacqueline Artinian (BR, ‘22)
2nd Place: Lucas McCollum Van Hoosear (BR, ‘22)

Youth Amateur Jr. Open Smooth Scholarship
1st Place: Jude Camaya (BR, ‘23) and Meghan Reardon (BR, ‘24)