STATE OF THE ART

Annabelle Park (IM, ‘22) was accepted to The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) All-National Honor Ensemble.

Elinor (Ellie) Weber (FTV, ‘21) and her short film, "The Omega," were nominated for five awards at the 2021 All American High School Film Festival in New York. The film was nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Drama, and Best Direction. Ellie was nominated for Female Rising Star.

The OCSA VEX Robotics Team competed in their first-ever tournament at the VEX OC Robo Bonanza, hosted by Beckman High School, and received the Judge’s Award. The following students participated in the tournament:

Sumin Cho (IM, ‘24)
Vivienne Ho (IA, ‘22)
Justin Hong (IM, ‘24)
Chelsea Lee (VA, ‘23)
Kara Syn (IM, ‘23)
Jeffrey Tadeo (IA, ‘21)
Ryan Yoo (CAH, ‘24)

The following alumni were selected to perform in the return of Disney’s ¡Viva Navidad! at Disney California Adventure Park. This heartfelt street party celebrates both Mexican and Brazilian cultures through the characters of the famed movie "The Three Caballeros."

Jackie Alvarez (IM, ‘18)
Vivian Alvarez (BF, ‘19)
Dominique Breckenridge (BF, ‘16)
Iris Distancia (BF, ‘16)
Matthew De Leon (BF, ‘17)
Alyssa Gomez (BF, ‘17)
Michael Gomez (BF, ‘14)
Melina Marin (MT, ‘18)
Adrian Martinez (BF, ‘20)
Brianna Marquez BF, ‘18)
Madeline Peña (BF, ‘14)
Jose Rea (BF, ‘18)
Rodrigo Rea (BF, ‘21)
Jose Rivera (BF, ‘18)

The following Ballroom Conservatory students received combined 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th place awards at the Elite Dancesport competition.

Rafael Cabanas (BR, ‘27)
Presley Herthel (BR, ‘26)
Jack Hillebrect (BR, ‘26)
Marina Pitt (BR, ‘26)

Nishtha Kumar (CV, ‘23) and Meera Sriram (CV, ‘22) were selected to sing in the Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) Regional Honor Choir. Out of the 353 singers who auditioned, Nishtha and Meera were among the 183 chosen to participate in honor choir intensive rehearsals at the University of Redlands and then to perform in a final concert.

Diego Legras (PM, ‘23) won first place in the Performer-Composer (Instrumental) category in Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU) High School Music Competition.

The following students from The Mekjian Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory were invited to participate in the MaxLove Project Farm to Fork Dinner at Tanaka Farms, which raises funds to fight childhood cancer.

Marie Acalin (CAH, ‘24)
Alexis Arvizu (CAH, ‘24)
Lindsay Bae (CAH, ‘23)
Aurelia Carrie (CAH, ‘23)
Dong Won Chang (CAH, ‘23)
Aveline Chauchereau (CAH, ‘22)
Hazel Ciufo (CAH, ‘24)
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Naya Garg (CAH, ‘24)
Samantha Gee (CAH, ‘24)
Kim Ha (CAH, ‘24)
Darian Hojreh (CAH, ‘22)
Megan Hughes (CAH, ‘24)
Sam Johnson (CAH, ‘22)
Samuel Laven (CAH, ‘23)
Lexi Layne (CAH, ‘24)
Bree Lew (CAH, ‘23)
Madison (Star) Lu (CAH, ‘22)
Kyleigh Nielson (CAH, ‘23)
Mia Octavio (CAH, ‘23)
Ryan Okajima (CAH, ‘23)
Kim Paige (CAH, ‘22)
Noga Raz (CAH, ‘24)
Brieanna Samaniego (CAH, ‘24)
Tira Smith (CAH, ‘24)
Jordan Spence (CAH, ‘24)
Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23)

Maya Bleszinski (MT, ‘23) music directed and Kyle Stafford (ACT, ‘23) staged and directed Act One Project’s production of "Ghost Quartet." Act One Project is a student-run theatre company founded by Kyle.

Logan Langevin (ACT, ‘23) was cast in Nickelodeon’s hit sitcom "Side Hustle."

Emma Grier (IA, ‘22) received a perfect score of 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition exam.

Sterling Tran (IM, ‘27) won first place awards at the II International Chopin Piano Competition in Austria, the Rocky Mountain Music Competition, the Carmel Klavier Latin America Competition, and the 8th International Piano Competition Smederevo, where he won the special award for Promising Young Artist. Sterling also received third place at the 9th International Piano Competition "Frederic Chopin" in Romania, second place in the solo category from the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition for Young Artists, and a scholarship award to the Costa Rica Piano Festival.

In addition to these awards, Sterling also performed at the Winner Gala Concert for the 2021 Conero International Piano Competition, and was also appointed the first alternate for the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) Piano Concerto Solo Competition.

Adrienne Amanda Morrow (MT, ‘25) was cast in "A Christmas Story: The Musical" at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in St. George, Utah.

Mikayla Fleming (BCD, ‘24) joined the Jazz Spectrum Dance Company’s second company, Spectrum 2, and was selected to perform in the Continuing the Legacy dance concert.

The following Classical Voice Conservatory students performed in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Student Evaluation Program. They participated through the Los Angeles chapter, which received hundreds of submissions. The students received the following awards:

Classical:

6th-8th Youth (ages 11-12)
First Place - Leila Woodward (CV, ‘27)
Second Place - Angelina Pendleton-Mendez (CV, ‘27)

6th-8th Youth (ages 13-14)
Third Place - Henry Courtney (CV, ‘26)

9th-10th Grade Treble (Group 1)
First Place - Luna Zamora (CV, ‘24)
Second Place - Madison Becerra (CV, ‘25)
Honorable Mention - Sky Keyoung (CV, ‘25)

9th-10th Grade Treble (Group 2)
Second Place - Viveka Saravanan (CV, ‘24)
Honorable Mention - Lilliana Mindel (CV, ‘24)

9th-10th Grade Tenor/Baritone/Bass
First Place - Julian Schuld (CV, ‘24)
Second Place - Sebastian Nunez (CV, ‘24)
Third Place - Bryce Leng (CV, ‘24)
Honorable Mention - Jack Wilson (CV, ‘25) and Maxwell Yen (CV, ‘24)

11th-12th Grade Treble (Group 1)
Third Place - Jaidyn Portanova (CV, ‘23)
Honorable Mention - Alexandra Holbrook (CV) and Sophia Kimmel (CV, ‘22)

11th-12th Grade Treble (Group 2)
Third Place - Mia Baron (CV, ‘23)
Honorable Mention - Anjal Jain (CV, ‘22)

11th-12th Grade Tenor/Baritone/Bass
First Place - Evan Richards (CV, ‘22)
Second Place - Lukas Wozencraft (CV, ‘22)
Third Place - Stephen Goeres-Hill (CV, ‘23)
Honorable Mentions - Alexander Jeon (CV, ‘23)

Musical Theater:

6th-8th Youth (age 12)
2nd Place - Leila Woodward (CV, ‘27)
Honorable Mention - Angelina Pendleton-Mendez (CV, ‘27)

9th-10th Grade Treble (Group 1)
Second Place - Luna Zamora (CV, ‘24)

11th-12th Grade Treble (Group 2)
Honorable Mention - Mia Baron (CV, ‘23)

Aryan Simhadri (ACT, ‘24) received a Young Artist Award for Best Teen Actor in a Streaming Film for his role in "The Main Event."

Kelsey Bray (MT, ‘17) was cast in South Coast Repertory’s annual production of "A Christmas Carol."

Ceci Balagot (MT, ‘19) was cast as Frankie Stein in the upcoming live-action musical movie "Monster High" which will air on Nickelodeon in 2022.

Teren Shaffer, President and CEO of Orange County School of the Arts, was voted to serve as 1st Vice President of Arts School Network (ASN) for a two-year term. As the 1st Vice President, he will support the annual conference and assist in the program management of various ASN objectives.

U.S. News & World Report released its 2021 national rankings for Best Elementary and Middle Schools, and Orange County School of the Arts was named the No. 3 Best Charter Middle School in the State of California. For more information, please visit: https://bit.ly/3rnvyEv

Nina Herzog (MT, ‘09) was selected to star in "My (Unauthorized) Hallmark Movie Musical" at the Broadwater Theater in Los Angeles.