STATE OF THE ART

The following students were recognized as semifinalists in The Music Center’s 33rd Annual Spotlight Program. Spotlight is a nationally acclaimed arts training and scholarship program for teens that awards more than $100,000 in cash scholarships annually. Semifinalists have the opportunity to attend a special master class in their discipline with highly regarded artists who share their expertise on performance technique, training, and professional life. Each semifinalist will virtually audition once more, and the top two finalist performers in each category will be selected for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists.

Classical Semifinalists:
Leo Sui (IM, ‘23)

Jazz Semifinalists:
Max Gilbert (IM, ‘22)
Nathan Tatsuta (IM, ‘24)

Acting Semifinalists:
Grace Wilcox (ACT, ‘22)
Kaya Sparnicht (ACT, '25)
Landon Wouters (MT, ‘22)
Tessa Espinola (ACT, ‘25)

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These students received Gold Key Regional-at-Large awards. Gold Key recipients will now be judged at the national level.

Jaeung Cha (VA, ‘25): Photography, “Matured Innocence”
Sylvia Cheeseman (DM, ‘22): Mixed Media, “Knit”; Painting, “Blossom”
Ruth Chen (CW, ‘25): Humor, "Lamentations"
Jennifer Choi (VA, ‘26): Mixed Media, “Capitalism”
Grace Chung (CW, ‘23): Science Fiction & Fantasy, "The Margean Codes"; Short Story, "An Essay on My Opinion of Showering"
Justine Droullard (CW, ‘24): Flash Fiction, "Flowers in the Sink"
Ashley Hong (CW, ‘24): Flash Fiction, "God's Gift to Us Witches"
Cynthia Huang (CW, ‘24): Poetry, "Homemade"
Hannah Kang (VA, ‘22): Design, “Squid Game: Temptation or Death”; Drawing & Illustration, “Voices of Objects”, “Ceramics & Glass”, “Plastic Addiction”
Annabelle Kim (CW, ‘24): Dramatic Script, "A Letter to You"; Poetry, "Working towards the next step"
Annette Kim (VA, ‘22): Drawing & Illustration, “Self-portrait”
Chaewon Kim (CW, ‘23): Architecture & Industrial Design, “Mugression”, “Blewn collection”
Chloe Kim (VA, ‘23): Drawing & Illustration, “Pressure”; Painting, “Toy Box”
Kate Kim (CW, ‘25): Short Story, "Grocery Store"
Kristie Lee (VA, ‘22): Design, “Yearbook Cover Design”; Mixed Media, “The Road Ahead”;
Sculpture, “Cowfee or Tea”, “Futile”
Lauren Kim (VA, ‘22): Film & Animation, "Overwhelming"; Mixed Media, “Pressure”; Sculpture, “Insecure”
Grant Li (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Earth's Skin"
Julie Lim (IA, ‘23): Drawing & Illustration, “Red Sea”
Georgia Mansey (IA, ‘22): Sculpture, “Honey”
Caitlyn Mason (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Search Engine Prayer"
Estelle Morris (VA, ‘23): Drawing & Illustration, “Reminiscence”
Sidney Muntean (CW, ‘22): Writing Portfolio, "Amalgamated Moments"
Eunice Oh (VA, ‘24): Comic Art, “Lunch”
Kaitlyn Pak (VA, ‘22): Painting, “Alien”
London San Luis (DM, ‘23): Painting, “Cogitate at Night in the Bathroom 20 Yards Away From Her Bedroom Door”, “A Late Night”
Camilla Shen (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Flux.Flow"
Amy Shi (CW, ‘24): Poetry, "Hereafters of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake"
Elora Sparnicht (CW, ‘23): Dramatic Script, "Party Pooper"; Humor, "Phototoxic"
Jeffrey Yang (CV, ‘24): Poetry, "mommy"
Lacole Yang (CW, ‘24): Poetry, "Reminiscence from the Lake, 2020"
Ruth Zhang (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Our Sweet Ride”

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These students received Silver Key Regional-at-Large awards.

Charlotte Brandman (MT, ‘23): Poetry, "Interior"
Kaitlyn Byer (CW, ‘25): Personal Essay & Memoir, "Just Me and Him"
Jaeung Cha (VA, ‘25): Photography, “Missing You”
Ruth Chen (CW, ‘25): Personal Essay & Memoir, "It Is."
Jennifer Choi (VA, ‘26): Drawing & Illustration, “Kitchen Utensils”; Mixed Media, “My Hobbies”
Kacy Chung (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Circles”
David Du (FTV, ‘24): Dramatic Script, "Tokyo from Afar, LA SALVATION"
Weiduo Feng (VA, ‘23): Drawing & Illustration, “Octopus in a rainstorm”; Film & Animation, "Lend"
Kelly Halliburton (CW, ‘25): Poetry, "The Elements of Nature"
Isabella Ho (CW, ‘22): Flash Fiction, "Playing Cards With Death"
Ashley Hodge (IA, ‘24): Science Fiction & Fantasy, "The Mystery Man"
Jessica Hong (CW, ‘24): Short Story, "The Skeleton Girl in My Chemistry Class"
Lyn Huang (CW, ‘24): Flash Fiction, "3165"
Aaliyah Joo (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Venus”
Jamie Jung (CW, ‘24): Poetry, "Pictures and Frames"
Sona Kamaraj (VA, ‘24): Painting, “Artificial Environment”
Hannah Kang (VA, ‘22): Drawing & Illustration, “A Woman’s Back”, “Catastrophe”
Estella Sky Keyoung (CV, ‘25): Photography, “Water Diamonds on the Rocks”
Annette Kim (VA, ‘22): Painting, “Incompetence”
Chaewon Kim (CW, ‘23): Painting, “It’s Unfair”
Chloe Kim (VA, ‘23): Drawing & Illustration, “Melting”

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These students received Honorable Mention Regional-at-Large awards.

Anika Biswas (CW, ‘23) Short Story, "Einkornicales: Lost Letters"
Kaitlyn Byer (CW, ‘25): Poetry, "The Crow's Lover"
Jaeung Cha (VA, ‘25): Fashion, “Design by Quinn”, “Dual Identity”
Ruth Chen (CW, ‘25): Critical Essay, “The Ethical Dilemma of True Crime as Entertainment”; Drawing & Illustration, "Hope"; Flash Fiction, "Murder"; Poetry, "Wide World"; Short Story, "Lost and Gone"
Ryan Choi (ACT, ‘24): Drawing & Illustration, “Toyna Character Concept Design”; Sculpture, “Mythical Creature Game Pieces for Creativity Board Game”
David Du (FTV, ‘24): Film & Animation, "Incent City"
Isabella Ho (CW, ‘22): Flash Fiction, "Little Lanterns"; Humor, "A Pretzel Hazard"
Faith Hochgesang (IA, ‘23): Flash Fiction, "Cries of the Maasai"; Poetry, "Rapture"
Ashley Hodge (IA, ‘24): Personal Essay & Memoir, "Pots Burn, Seams Burst"
Lyn Huang (CW, ‘24): Novel Writing, "Someday In A Room With A Seaside View"
Sally Jang (CW, ‘23): Dramatic Script, "Dear Lauren"
Ryan Jeong (P&D, ‘23): Journalism, "Scholastic Competition: Conservatives vs. Media: A Thinning Ice"
Antara Kalle (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Balcony Boats"
Griffin Kelleher (CW, ‘23): Science Fiction & Fantasy, "The Auxer"
Amber Khauv (CW, ‘24): Science Fiction & Fantasy, "Don't Lie to Me"
Annabelle Kim (CW, ‘24): Personal Essay & Memoir, "Familiarity in the Unknown, Is it truly fortunate?"; Poetry, "Words passed from her to me"
Emily Kim (CW, ‘24): Personal Essay & Memoir, "A Daily Reminder"
Seo Yun Kang (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Part of Me”
Chaewon Kim (CW, ‘23): Drawing & Illustration, “You’re getting old”
Kate Kim (CW, ‘25): Poetry, "A Plate of Gochu"

Tane Kim’s (IM, ‘24) manuscript, titled "Analyzing TCGA Data to Identify Gene Mutations Linked To Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Asians," was accepted for publication in "Gastrointestinal Tumors" which is an international, peer-reviewed journal that brings together the leading opinions in all fields related to gastrointestinal cancer research. Tane also scored within the top five percent of scores on the American Math Competition Ten (AMC 10) and qualified for the 2022 American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) with distinction. This is his second time qualifying for AIME.

Erin Tardibuono (MT, ‘25) was selected by producer Bruce Kimmel to sing "How Lovely to be a Woman / One Boy" and "Ship in a Bottle" in the 117th Kritzerland Cabaret Show at Feinstein's at Vitello's in Studio City.

Kate Um (CV, ‘24) received the silver prize in the Canadian International Competition in the Rising Star category for classical voice.

Jennifer Vu (IM, ‘26) and Rachael Vu (IM, ‘24) received first place in the Sibling category at the United States International Duo Piano Competition in Colorado Springs. They performed the piece "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Jordan Cruz (MT, ‘21) was cast as one of the elves in a production of "Elf the Musical" with the equity theater Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lauren Young (PD, ‘26) co-created a charitable children's book cover for the Clinton Foundation.

Mia Soumbasakis’s (CW, ‘22) poem, entitled “An Offering & A Personal Love Letter — a response poem to Sanctuary by Donika Kelly,” was published in the zine "Mujeres Libres Anthology," Volume One by Mujeres Libres Press in January.

Isaac Sohn (IM, ‘25) received first place in the Intermediate (13 to 15 years old) category at the 2022 Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition and was invited to the winner's concert at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Sarah Anderson (MT, ‘22), Zach Hoffman (ACT, ‘22), and Lauren Williams (ACT, ‘22) were cast and performed in "Les Miserables" with Braver Players Musical Theater Foundation as Cosette, Jean Valjean, and Fantine respectively.

Creative Writing Faculty Member Tim Powers' newest novel, "Stolen Skies," was published in January.

Vincent Virga (CW, ‘22) published his first book, a children's book titled "Bird of Stone." The story revolves around a stone gargoyle that offers lessons in kindness, caring, and teamwork.

Jordan Guerrero (CW, ‘23) has had her epistolary fiction piece, "Umbrella Girl," published in Cathartic Youth Literary Magazine.

Leo Lai (CW, ‘24) has had his flash fiction story, "Irregular Dancing," accepted for publication in Teen Ink magazine.

Sean Lee (IM, ‘18) released an online album of music videos with pianist Peter Dugan, titled "Paganini X Schumann: 9 Caprices." To view the full video series, please visit: https://bit.ly/35BfTc5

Congratulations to OCSA’s Mock Trial Team, faculty advisor Whitney Coates, and volunteer coaches Justice Halim Dhanidina, Melissa Brandman, J.D, and Ethan Feng, J.D. for advancing to the Orange County finals for the first time and receiving second place after competing against rigorous competition. OCSA’s Gold team advanced to the top eight for only the second time in the program’s history. The following students competed as members of the team.

Sophia Abiera (ACT, ‘24)
Sruthi Alle (CV, ‘22)
Zabethah Bagnol (PD, ‘24)
Charlotte Brandman (MT, ‘23)
Sarah Demeter (CW, ‘25)
Sammy Dorfman (IA, ‘24)
V Garcia (ACT, ‘25)
Mona George (CV, ‘25)
Ethan Gray (ACT, ‘22)
Kennedy Harrison (PD, ‘25)
Sasha Herthel (ACT, ‘23)
Joshua Hizon (MT, ‘23)
Ashley Hodge (IA, ‘23)
Toby Izenberg (CW, ‘23)
Milo Karnes (IA, ‘24)
Claire Karr (VA, ‘23)
Emma Kay (ACT, ‘23)
Annabelle Kim (CW, ‘23)
Ariana Kim (IM, ‘25)
Caitlin Kim (ACT, ‘25)
Emily Kim (CW, ‘24)
Fanny Kim (IA, ‘24)
Isabella Kim (ACT, ‘25)
Haley Kleinman (IA, ‘24)
Elaine Lim (FTV, ‘25)
Diego Linn (BR, ‘25)
Samantha Liu (IM, ‘23)
Regan Mading (IA, ‘23)
Katia Miyamoto (CW, ‘24)
Lucy Moriyama (ACT, ‘23)
Daisy Noh (IA, ‘22)
Kendall Phanco (VA, ‘23)
Colin Root (ACT, ‘22)
Ashima Sharma (CW, ‘25)
Cat Silva-Oliveira (IA, ‘24)
Ciara Tadeo (IA, ‘25)
Josie Wang (PM, ‘23)
Sophia Wilhelm (VA, ‘23)
Lacole Yang (CW, ‘24)

Rick Messina (MT, ‘95) was nominated for an Artios Award for his work on the film "The Tender Bar."

Matthew Blam (IM, ‘24) was recently granted membership into the Young Composers Guild (YCG) upon recommendation by a panel of composition evaluators. The Young Composers Guild is the highest achievement that a Music Teachers' Association of California (MTAC) high school composition student can attain.

Shannon Bae (PM) was featured in a KPopStarz article featuring Korean idols who once lived abroad before moving to Korea. For the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3KjLXQg

Michael Morris (CV, ‘26) received first place in the VOCE Music Teachers' Association of California (MTAC) Competition.

Lola Suleiman (CW, ‘23) released a book titled "Dear Q,." "Dear Q," is about a girl named Rilee who learns to cope with grief when she loses her best friend. Through new friends and unexpected struggles, Rilee may finally be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Evan Richards (CV, ‘22) and Viveka Saravanan (CV, ‘24) were recently invited to sing in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Los Angeles’ Winter Symposium Masterclass with internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Susan Graham.

President and CEO Teren Shaffer was recognized as one of Chapman University’s honored alumni. As a part of their 160th anniversary year, Chapman recognized students, alumni, faculty, staff, volunteers, and donors who are change makers, show bold leadership, demonstrate kindness and compassion, and show innovation that solves problems locally or around the globe.

The OCSA Ambassador Jazz Orchestra has been selected as one of 15 finalists in the country to participate in the 2022 Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in New York, hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The following Culinary Arts & Hospitality students were selected to compete in the 2022 CA ProStart Cup.

Culinary Team:
Captain: Madison (Star) Lu (CAH, ‘22)
Aurelia Carrie (CAH, ‘23)
Max Gilbert (CAH, ‘22)
Ryan Okajima (CAH, ‘23)
Trinity Wiideman (CAH, ‘24)

Management Team:
Captain: Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23)
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Sam Laven (CAH, ‘23)
Willie Yao (CAH, ‘24)

Individual Competitor:
Mason Vair (CAH, ‘23)

Clara Choi (CMD, ‘25) and Sophia Madrigal (ACT, ‘22) were featured in the “Bravo!” section of the "Orange County Register," which celebrates the achievements of Orange County locals. Clara won second place in the Broadcom MASTERS awards for her project, “EEG Study of Virtual Learning Demonstrates Worsened Learning Outcomes and Higher Mirror Neuron Activation,” and Sophia earned a national Gold Award Scholarship from the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

Daniel Mattos, Chef Director of the Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory, was featured in an article by the Orange County Register about OCSA’s culinary Throwdown competition. For the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3q7yWC3

The OCSA Robotics Team qualified for the 2022 Southern California VRC High School State Championship held at Damien High School, where they will compete for a chance to go to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

Hannah Cho (IM, ‘25) won first place in the 2022 International Music Competition Vienna and London Grand Prize Virtuoso competition. She was offered a chance to perform at Gläserner Saal Musikverein in Vienna and Royal Albert Hall in London. She also won first place in the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) Contemporary Competition District 8 and advanced to the State final.

Dante Basco (MT, ‘93) and his family were featured in a Los Angeles Times front-page story about his recent directorial debut on his film "The Fabulous Filipino Brothers." For more info, please visit: https://lat.ms/3Kqv46y

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These students received Silver Key Regional-at-Large awards.

Donggyu Kim (VA, ‘24): Drawing & Illustration, “Sweetness”
Emily Kim (CW, ‘24): Dramatic Script; "Will It Get Better?"; Personal Essay & Memoir; "Regardless of a Drift…"
Frances Kim (IA, ‘24): Drawing & Illustration, “Orange in Ice”
Jennifer Kim: Mixed Media, “Night Market”
Haley Kleinman (IA, ‘23): Science Fiction & Fantasy, "The Truth About The Silence"
Leo Lai (CW, ‘24): Dramatic Script, "CATS SIDE STORY"
Alison Amber Lee (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Outlook”
Kristie Lee (VA, ‘22): Design, “Our Plastic, Our Oceans”; Fashion, “Reversible Shipping Envelope to Tote Bag”
Evan Yu-Wei Lu (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Doctor”
Jack Malo (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Latke Words With Grandpa Max"
Caitlyn Mason (CW, ‘23): Journalism, "Airlines Break Wheelchairs Every Day. Disabled People Are Fighting Back"
Lisa Ordonez (IA, ‘23): Personal Essay & Memoir, "Once Ours Alone"
Ash Park (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Albert"
Kaitlyn Pak (VA, ‘22): Painting, “Clad”
London San Luis (DM, ‘23): Painting, “Elicitation”, “Together Again”, “The Warmest Embrace”, “Sightless”; Sculpture, “Tao”
Ashley Shin (VA, ‘25): Drawing & Illustration, “Still Life”
Clara Son (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "America, Convicted, Greek Tragedies"
Leo Sui (IM, ‘23): Personal Essay & Memoir, "Sweet Tomatoes; Always Closest To Spoiling"
Ally Wong (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Feng shui (n.)"
Melody Wu (VA, ‘24): Painting, “Delicate Doorway”
Jeffrey Yang (CV, ‘24): Critical Essay, "THE WARRING STATES: CULTURAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENTAL FEUD BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES"; Poetry, "lunar new year, for her, trapped in nineteen ninety-nine, last conversation with grandmother"
Misu (Cindy) Zhang (VA, ‘24): Drawing & Illustration, “Betrayal”

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These students received Honorable Mention Regional-at-Large awards.

Carrie Kuo (VA, ‘22): Design, “Park Days”
Alison Amber Lee (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Barren”, “Isolation”
Kristie Lee (VA, ‘22): Design, "Draw How You See Yourself!"
Grant Li (CW, ‘23): Flash Fiction, "Father's Hands are Magical; Journalism, Essential Immigrant Businesses, PostCOVID, Rebound and Rebuild"
Jeongwon Lim (FTV, ‘25): Film & Animation, "Just Another Weekend"
Evan Yu-Wei Lu (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Illusions”
London San Luis (DM, ‘23): Painting, “Female Gaze”, “Homecoming”; Sculpture, “Scotoma”; Photography, “underneaths”, “undoings”
Caitlyn Mason (CW, ‘23): Dramatic Script, "Portrait of the Void"
Sidney Muntean (CW, ‘22): Personal Essay & Memoir, "The Botanists"; Poetry, "palpitations"
Ash Park (CW, ‘23): Dramatic Script, "Try to Try"; Flash Fiction, "Star Seed"
Amy Shi (CW, ‘24): Poetry, "Mother Hands"; Short Story, "Paradoxical Heroism"
Clara Son (CW, ‘23): Poetry, "Lemon Trees", "Letters to Dorothy", "Steps"
Huilun Wang (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Transformation”
Ally Wong (CW, ‘23): Personal Essay & Memoir, "Tiger Lily Bloom Season"; Poetry, "Table Set", "TO-DO LIST", "ITEM NO.3"
Jeffrey Yang (CV, ‘24): Flash Fiction, "Colors on a Blank Canvas", "The Death of Winter"; Poetry, "motel", "the between", "morning coffee", "more than"
Mia Yen (CW, ‘24): Poetry, "take me to a place far away"
Rachel Yoo (VA, ‘23): Painting, “Boundaries”
Lauren Young (PD, ‘26): Painting, “Library of Magic”
Cinna Zhou (VA, ‘25): Mixed Media, “Lure”; Painting, “World of the Books”
Eric Zhu (FTV, ‘22): Film & Animation, "The Best Life"