Every year The Music Center in Los Angeles holds their Spotlight competition to award scholarships to outstanding high school performers in the Southern California region. With the pandemic still keeping venues in Los Angeles closed, this year’s event has gone online. The Spotlight Virtual Grand Finale will be aired tonight, September 9th, on KCET at 8:00 PM PDT on Southland Sessions.
This competitors faced off in one of seven categories: Acting, Ballet, Non-Classical Dance, Classical Voice, Non-Classical Voice, Classical Instrumental and Jazz Instrumental. Here are this years finalists:
Acting: Tyla Uzo, a junior at Ramon C. Cortines High School (Los Angeles), and Evan Klein, a junior at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles)
Ballet: Jacob Jovanni Alvarado, a sophomore at Cabrillo Point Academy of Inspire Charter Schools (San Diego), and Ashley Lew, a junior at Capistrano Connections Academy (San Juan Capistrano)
Non-Classical Dance: Maya Alvarez-Coyne, a junior at Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana), and Bergundi Loyd, a home-schooled sophomore (Riverside)
Classical Voice: Estefani Lopez, a junior at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles), and Rena Maduro, a senior at North (John W.) High School (Riverside);
Non-Classical Voice: Amelia Aguilar, a junior at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles), and Daisy Tye, a senior at Huntington Beach High School (Huntington Beach);
Classical Instrumental: Anoush Pogossian (clarinet), a senior at Verdugo Academy (Glendale), and Albert Gang (violin), a senior at Sage Hill School (Newport Beach);
Jazz Instrumental: Ethan Avery (trumpet), a home-schooled senior (Los Angeles), and Kai Burns (guitar), a junior at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (Los Angeles).
The host for the show is Tony Award-winner Lindsay Mendez (Carousel). She’s an alumnus of the Spotlight program. Also making virtual appearances in the show are ballet dancer Misty Copeland, singer Josh Groban, dancer Matthew Rushing and dancer Melinda Sullivan – all of whom are also alumni of The Music Center’s program.
If you live in the SoCal area but can’t watch the show on September 9th, it will also be broadcast on PBS SoCal on September 19th at 7:00 PM PDT.
If you don’t live in the area or can’t watch either broadcast, you can watch the show here on the Music Center’s website.
It should be noted that there is an advisory that “Some performances contain profanity, racial themes and epithets and references to violence. The Music Center does not censor original theatrical material.“
Congratulations to all the Spotlight finalists.