Orange County's Rising Stars: 12th Annual Artist of the Year Nominees Revealed
- Heide Janssen
- Mar 16
- 16 min read
High school arts teachers nominated 923 students for the awards program this season.
The nominees for the 12th annual Artist of the Year honors have been announced.
This year, 923 students were nominated, representing 82 local high schools, arts organizations and private arts instructors.
The program was originally created by The Orange County Register as a companion to the paper's longstanding Athlete of the Year honors. Today, the program is also sponsored by Chapman University's College of Performing Arts (COPA) and Segerstrom Center for the Arts, with additional support from Arts Orange County and individual donors.
The program was at risk of being canceled this year until the Segerstrom Center committed its support for the next two years. "As a lead sponsor of the OC Artists of the Year Awards, Segerstrom Center for the Arts is deeply committed to fostering and nurturing the next generation of artists and storytellers,” said Casey Reitz, president and CEO of the Segerstrom Center.
“Having served twice as a panel judge in the past, I have been truly impressed by the incredible talent we possess in Orange County. This experience highlighted the importance of the Center’s involvement in this specific program, which allows us to further our mission of making the arts accessible to everyone. We take immense pride in showcasing the young and talented artists of our community, and our dedicated staff and volunteers are excited to be part of this inspiring project, celebrating creativity and innovation right here in Orange County."
COPA has been a sponsor of the program since 2020. Under the leadership of its new dean, Anne Hogan, the school will also stay on as a sponsor through 2026. "The College of Performing Arts at Chapman University is proud to celebrate the incredible talents of young artists through the OC Artist of the Year program,” Hogan said. “It’s a privilege to partner with The Orange County Register to honor these young artists, showcase their achievements, and champion the transformative power of the arts. We believe that arts education not only inspires creativity but also equips young people with invaluable skills that resonate across any career path."
Addition support is provided by Arts Orange County, which is accepting donations on behalf of Artist of the Year from individuals who would like to see this program continue to thrive. If you would like to support Artist of the Year with a donation, you can contribute here.
To view the list of nominees with endorsements from the students’ teachers and links to samples of the students’ work, go to the story posted by The Orange County Register.
Below, we have listed the names and schools for the nominees in the seven arts disciplines.
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Dance nominees. Top row, from left: Jasmine Gama, Delila Kooiman, Carina Elle Clarin, Amy Matsumoto, Ella Smallwood. Bottom row: Taven Blanke, Vanessa Jensen, Rebecca Joselin Arellano, Marin Byrd, Grace Derks. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Dance
The following students have been named as nominees in dance. A total of 126 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Brea Olinda High School | Carina Elle Clarin, Leilah Dioquino, Noelle Dominado, Emily Mikulich Rodarte, Brooke Winterrowd
Capistrano Valley High School | Kaileigh Benvenuto, Marrin Byrd, Delila Kooiman, Sienna Morley, Emma Shimizu
Costa Mesa High School | Dani Lopez, Lena Williams
Crean Lutheran High School | Xinran Liu, Alyssa Mori, Caris Rabbitt, Coco Ueno, Ella Xu, Xinyi Xu, Tess Yoon
Fullerton Union High School | Andromeda Bruschke, Hannah Cheon, Garrett Goldman, Olivia Gomez, Rio Gomez, Kennedy Molino
Garden Grove High School | Adilene Escobar, Mikayla Nguyen
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts | Taven Blanke, Roxie Brookheyser, Grace Derks, Miabella Gordon, Makayla Ishii, Abby Kiet, Bella Kovac, Jada Kuns, Geneva Longheyer, Avery Malone, Elly Malone, Landon Mariano, Lucia Martinez, Brianna Meck, Natalie Meschuk, Karis Oishi, Tori (Victoria) Patz, Kiara Sims, Maia Sokmaman, Jocelyn Thomas,
Irvine High School | Srikrithi Sivasubramanian
John F. Kennedy High School | Lillian McFarren
JSerra Catholic High School | Natalie Garrison
La Habra High School | Ella Grosso, Gia Grosso
La Quinta High School | Rebecca Joselin Arellano, Diana Kien Duong, Christine Tran
Los Alamitos High School | Katelynn Chen, Arron Myers, Rianna Norman, Jasmine Yune
Mater Dei High School | Savannah Fregoso, Vanessa Jensen
Newport Harbor High School | Charlie Geary
Northwood High School | Elise Kong, Louise Macatula, Caleigh Nystrom, Sophia Yang
Orange County School of the Arts | Jimena Alcocer Menodza, Jesus Alvarez, Kameron Couch, Katie Couch, Shelby Guetzkow, Isabella Guzmán, Isabella Grace Harrington, Presley Herthel, Carissa Hsu, Charlotte Huang, Carlos Lozano, Andrea Martinez, Bruno Vincente Mckenzie, Merce Meynardie, Isaac Nuñez, Samantha Okada-Lam, Brad Olivarez, Alyssa Park, Arianna Ramirez, Piper Rovsek, Bella Rose Silva, Brody Silva, Landyn Slominski, Ariel Tello, SophiaGrace Williams
Portola High School | Zhongxuan An, Hailey Van
Private instructor Lissy Burboa | Ava Ibarra
Sage Hill School | Emily Chen
San Juan Hills High School | Ashley Hall, Molly McCabe, Amelia Mui, Ella Smallwood, Devynn Smark, Melania J. Velazquez
Santa Ana High School | Alexandrea Diaz, Rocio Villegas
Santa Margarita Catholic High School | Clara Lynn Cestone, Natalie de Leon, Jasmine Gama, Gianna Salata, Kayla Tran, Brooke Vurpillat, Ava Isabellą Woinarowicz
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Victoria Clark, Drake Harvey, Tessa Maryott, Paige Minton
Sunny Hills High School | Naomi Coulter
Trabuco Hills High School | Ashlyn Barrett, Ashley Gibney, Sonal Gill, Tia Gutierrez, Isabella Manis, Aliya Weyman
Troy High School | Alyssa Santos
Valencia High School | Samantha Medina, Megan Park
Woodbridge High School | Amy Matsumoto
Yorba Linda High School | Naina Brar
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Film and TV nominees. Top row, from left: Sophia Smith, Sam Sisil, James Conlee, Kyle Hero Kim, Ethan Garcia. Bottom row: Claire Ng, Kyan T. Whiten, Cash Weber, Ella West Jerrier, Noah Villanueva. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Film and TV
The following students have been named as nominees in film and TV. A total of 61 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Beckman High School | Ian Adviento, Ethan Garcia, Jacob Pascual,
Buena Park High School | Aracely Aispuro Morales, Carlos J. Cardenas, Leon A. Galindo, Alize Marie Galvan, Sophia Ortega
Capistrano Valley High School | Lincoln Cole, Matin Ghanavat
Costa Mesa High School | India Howerton
Crean Lutheran High School | Yeonwoo Kim
Edison High School | Cash Weber
El Dorado High School | JD Cavalluzzi, James Conlee, Josh Eady, Claire Ng,
Zoey C Rodriguez, River Santiago, Sophia Smith, Autumn Treister
Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Austin Bonar, Amrita Gala, Bendicio Gonzalez, Valentino Kitchen, Isabella Sera Porretta
Fountain Valley High School | Trinh Vy Vy
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts | Chase W. Bennett, Isabel Langer, Joshua Lieu, Ryan Ramirez, Zayn Saade, Jasyn Tayloro Chiuppi, Orion Wieczorek
Irvine High School | Charlie Petersen
Laguna Hills High School | Audrey Frueh
Los Alamitos High School | Joseph Ito, Isabella Kira, Claire Marano, Daniel Padilla, Luke Sanchez, Sam Sisil, Destry Manahan Smith, Davis Taylor, Kyan T. Whiten, Abby Zidonis
Northwood High School | Keon Rezazadeh, Noah Villanueva
Orange County School of the Arts | Nelan Castillo, Ella West Jerrier, Kyle Hero Kim, Micah Lai, Timothy Kouhei Okajima, David Pineda, Jonah Ranz, John Charles Rosenberg
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Ani Alyanakian, Vivian Li, Mac Ullem
Valencia High School | Cody Gooch
Yorba Linda High School | Skylar Snyder
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Fine arts nominees. Top row, from left: Ivy Rose, Ruby Espinosa, Tesenga Taye Yohanes, Hailey Garvey, Julian Hahn. Bottom row: Devin Espinosa, Amanda Almeida, Cathy Fan, Grace Chang, Jane Ryu. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Fine Arts
The following students have been named as nominees in fine arts. A total of 184 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Atelier Creative Art Studio | Allyson Choi
Beckman High School | Sophia Feliciani, Hailey Garvey, Jay Johnson, Kayla Stephens,
Brea Olinda High School | Callie Lonowski, Malvina Naylor, Esther Oh
Calvary Chapel | Taylor Rowyn Davis, Grace Karg
Canyon High School | Christina Bovitas, Jade Diaz, Elise Guerrero, Samantha Guzman, Julian Hahn, Hailey Lee, Mia Saenz, Natalie Tan, Aretha Thao Phan, Saylor Wise
Capistrano Valley High School | Shayan Amini-Nejad, Kayden Braman, Aubrey DeLeon, Ashley Luciano, Liam Xavier Eversz Nordrum, Heba Ouri, Sophia Rodriguez
Corona del Mar High School | Victoria Dinh, Alexa Rodriguez
Costa Mesa High School | Frida Carrillo, Chloe Gleason, Lucca Miller, Emma Molina, Dan Pintor, Allison Trask, Tsega Taye Yohanes, Estellina Yurada
Crean Lutheran High School | Grace Chang, Zihan Cheng, Daniel Cho, Keira Clineff, Joanne Kim, Alexis Lee, Kayoung Lee, Qiushi (Lola) Liu, Ruijie (Lucy) Liu, Cici Pan, Claire Jaeyoon Park, Casey Alexandra Perez, Madeleine Wong, Jiyun Woo, Yewon Woo, Jiayi Yang, Helen Zhang
Dana Hills High School | Dylan Tam
El Dorado High School | Lynx Adawag, Zachary Encarnacion, Layla Houk, Madison Justine Huang, Nadeen Jaridly, Joshua Jaesung Lee, Erik Lenz, Robin (Melanie) Lourdes Leon, Abbey Lucas, Jaslene Eve Ortiz-Guillen, Elle Hannah Shen, Dean Walberg
Esperanza High School | Vania Jannine De Ungria, Natalie Miller, Katie Rentch, Hannah Yee
Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Cathy Fan, Iris Jing, Terry Kim, Lena Ko, Amanda Jiayi Lin, Jaydee Moon, Anika Nunes, Isabella Sera Porretta, Evelyn Tan, Magnolia Wu, Mona Zhu
Foothill High School | Abigail (Lynn) Acosta, Finn Bassett, Devin Espinosa, Juliana Estrada, Arden Hagland, Francesca Lynch, Mason McHale, Piper Prijatel, Sena Quyen Kayla Tamura, Nicole Lucena Tran
JSerra Catholic High School | Emma Rae Doss, Giovanna Julian, Alexandra Marsh, Audrey Nobles
Katella High School | Wendy Patlan
La Habra High School | Ruby Espinoza Quevedo, Tatiana Peterson
Laguna Beach High School | Charley Jerabek, Clark Kimball, Luna Liu, Eliana Seven Merritt, Hannah Miller, Sam O'Neill, Emily Shook, Leo Leigh Wittkop, Simon Garcia, Jessica Huang
Los Alamitos High School | Danielle Townzen
Northwood High School | Sophie Do, Hannah Gu, Hyunjung Lee, Angelina Lu, Dante Polivka, Claire Wu
Orange County School of the Arts | Isabella Chiodo, Ashley Choi, Grace Fleischmann, Millie Hamel, Dana Kim, Sophia Kim, Akira Kircher, Haeny Lee, Nini Liu, Valerie Nguyen, Vivi Perez, Ava Schmitt, Faith Suh, Angelina Wang, Ella Wang, Jiayi Jenny Wang, Emily Wen, Keyun Xiao, Charlotte Yoh
Orange High School | Natalie Ramirez
Orange Lutheran High School | Amanda Almeida, Minji Claire Chang, Mick Inrig, Olivia Khanbeigi, Ivy Rose Lang, Penelope Penaloza, Mary Jane Pfaff, Graeme Sterling
Portola High School | Sumin Kim, Cara Lin, Rachael Park, Jane Ryu, Leah Sim, Siyu Wu, Wenfeng Zhou
Private instructor Ara Chiew | Yuna Song
Rosary Academy | Alyssa Parial
Santa Margarita Catholic High School | Havana Anderson, Mackenzie Busch, Maiya Konetzke, Gianna Maeve Mantucca, Alexander Sulzbach, Brielle Surgener
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Helena Lawry, Angela Liu
Sunny Hills High School | Laurel Henderson, Vivian Pop, Sydney Zarate
Tustin High School | Andrew Hernandez, Samuel Ramirez
University High School | Sophia Tang Nagel, Corrine Wu
Valencia High School | Carmen Arneson, Eujin Kim, Ximena Lopez-Hernandez, Jasmin Padilla Macias
Waldorf School of Orange County | Olive Leigh
Westminster High School | Lillian Castillo, Angelina Dang, Gisselle Mendoza, Sara Merlo, Phuc Nguyen, Berenice Pantoja Garcia, Samantha Perdomo, Jared Nathan Quisberth, Savannah Tahmasebi, Duyen Vu
Woodbridge High School | Pablo Matías Hernández Martínez
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Instrumental music nominees. Top row, from left: Conner Hearron, Emmi Nicolov, Allie Molin, Caroline Cho, Min-Hyuk (Raphael) Jang. Bottom row: Francis Lung, Josh Koines, David Wong, Keilah Park, Joyce Wen. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Instrumental Music
The following students have been named as nominees in instrumental music. A total of 120 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Aliso Niguel High School | Evan Brusky, Tristan Espinosa, Ayan Gursahani, Evelyn Man, Katherine Tran
Beckman High School | Brendan Chang, Caroline Cho, Julianna Hsu, Yoonjin (Tiffany) Kim, Alvina Lin, Jonathan Suh, Joyce Wen, Sophie Wu
Capistrano Valley High School | Ceren Altintas, Aidan Garcia, Tea Grimberg, Surina Hue, Samuel Lee, Hannah Ratanapratum, Jaiden Vinh
Costa Mesa High School | Andi Yoltzin Lopez
Crean Lutheran High School | Min-Hyuk (Raphael) Jang, Claire Jin, Daniel Lee, Jooha Bella Lee, Dorina Lin
Cypress High School | Joseph Liu
El Dorado High School | Luke Carruth, Logan Johnson, Alan Juarez, Owen Krahl
Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Ethan Henry, Louis Lu
Fountain Valley High School | Kayden Rio Ishii
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts | Jaxon Cunningham, William Dawley, Kelly Hunter, Owen Mitchell, Blake Zeutzius
Irvine High School | Xavier Mao
John F. Kennedy High School | Xuxuan Lu
JSerra Catholic High School | Jacob Meyer Trette Jr.
Los Alamitos High School | Joe Burke, Joshua Butterbaugh, Sebastian Cruz, Nicolas Pallone, John Sabino, Wun Chahn Shin
Mater Dei High School | Emily Nelmida
Northwood High School | Drew Maragay, Lucas Nguyen
Orange County School of the Arts | Hank Braverman, Samuel Chung, HP Emerich, Ariana Kim, Jiyu Lee, Allie Molin, Emmi Nicolov, Keilah Park, Alyssa Eri Snow
Orange High School | Samuel Mendoza Rodriguez
Orange Lutheran High School | Hudson Dexter, Yixin (Monica) Ye
Oxford Academy | Xabrina Kroll, Nathan Nguyen, Cameron Oates
Pacific Academy | Hannah Cho, Kyle Yeung
Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra | Rubi Lee, Verena Lo, Justin Kwak Park
Portola High School | Amicus Carrasco,
Private instructor Casey Yu | Xenia Lee,
Private instructor Judy Huang | Bethany Ye Eun Kim, Hayden Park
Private instructor Kathy Oh | David Wong
Private instructor Miranda Wu | Emily Yeh
Private instructor William Wellwood | Guanting Wu (Mitt)
Private instructor Young Sook Kang | Alice Baik
Santa Ana High School | Jamie Rolando Barrios Palacios, Edgar Bravo, Vianney Garcia, Albert Guerra, Oliver Gutierrez, Giovanni hernandez, Victor Mendoza, Alexander Mendoza Gutierrez, Alex Ramirez, Gael Ramirez Regalado, Jairo Salgado
Sonora High School | Christine Choi, Adam Mazun, Matthew Vincent Paz, Kurt Valverde-Madrigal
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Ryan Chin, Alaire Dandel, Richard Feng
Tarbut V'Torah | Amber Lin
Tesoro High School | Aden Chen, Sawyer Damron, Miles Fryling, Aaron Marana, Jackson Olsen
University High School | Amy Lantz, Francis Lung
Valencia High School | Jonah Griffin, Jaden Seunghoon Jung
Villa Park High School | Francis Samson
Woodbridge High School | Sihyun Noelle Kim, Josh Koines, Amin Nahas, Seri Ochi, Oooju Robinson
Yorba Linda High School | Camelia Adams, Conner Hearron, Coral Hsu, Sarah Kang, Jay Liu, Angelo Messina, Avery Seaman
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Media arts nominees. Top row, from left: Anaheim Julissa Molina, Alyssa Abernethy, Lex Antonowsky, Ruhil V. Patel, Joel Johnson. Bottom row: Jaden Vega, Gweneth Hatch, Davyn Lee, Cassy Lim, Carter Diaz de Leon. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Media Arts
The following students have been named as nominees in media arts. A total of 102 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Beckman High School | Shiloh Ahrens, Yu-Ru Chen, May Do, Paloma Figueroa, Kailey Grandes, John Ha, Makenzie Ho, Jerod "Atlas" Hull, Trevor Josten, Kirsten Kim, Dylan Ma, Emily Nguyen, Rushil V. Patel, Dianny Aurora Pichardo, Oliver Tham
Buena Park High School | Alize Galvan, Keven Morales, Johni-Jo Anthony Morillo, Edwin Rosales
Canyon High School | Mia Saenz
Capistrano Valley High School | Rachel (Redd) Arce, Katlan (Milo) Granados, Joel Johnson, Simona Krucek, Mikey Schwartz, Tessa Michelle Wren
Corona del Mar High School | Victoria Quynh Vy Dinh
Costa Mesa High School | Zack Obando
Crean Lutheran High School | Sinuo He, Ziyun (Eva) Zhu
Cypress High School | Freddie Ho
El Camino High School | Vega Merriweather
El Dorado High School | Alyssa Abernethy, Amy Cornelius, Jayden Vega
Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Gaston Soriano
Foothill High School | Mattea Eleshio, Ariel Hernandez, Kelly Jernigan, Melanie Salazar, Olivia Schartz, Alex Van Kouwenberg
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts | Audrey Kawasaki, Lauren Vanderplas
Katella High School | Bryan Bautista, Cody Gomez, Isabella Montalvo
La Habra High School | K. R. D-B, Joseph Jimenez
Northwood High School | Emily Law, Keeks Zhang
Orange County School of the Arts | Ash Chiou, Aileen Chun, Jasmine Diep, Ava Forghani, Gwyneth Hatch, Jennifer (Doyeon) Kim, Johnathan Abrahan Leanos-Villanueva, Valerie Truc-Mai Nguyen, Kelsey Tsai
Orange High School | Kenya Cabeza, Carter Diaz de Leon, Sol Gallardo, Leah Ariana Hernandez, Lily McWilliams, Osvaldo Nunez, Rowan Ontiveros, William Villasaldo
Portola High School | Davyn Lee
Rosary Academy | Lex Antonowsky, Alyssa Parial, Binh Dong Nghi Tran, Shelby Villalobos
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Enzo Bertolino
Sunny Hills High School | Isabella Loarca
Tustin High School | Kenneth Daniel Avendano, Lisbeth Castro, Elias Delibrado, Leah Scarlett Lenhardt, Justin Rojas, Katelyn Trujillo, Johanna Vazquez
University High School | Mateo Andre, Uyen Diep, Shobi Loewenstein, Matthew J Yoon
Valencia High School | Ella Arevalos, Kailani Cabaccang, Jubilee Cisneros, Brianny Guardado, Anaheim Julissa Molina, Eden Smith
Westminster High School | Thanh Le, Cassy Lim, Oliva Mexia, Amy (Thu) Nguyen, Ann Nguyen, Dina (Doanh) Nguyen, Minh Nguyen-Thai, Abraham Lopez Quintero, Augustine Ta, Thanh Tong
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Theater nominees. Top row, from left: Colin Eaton, Charlie Banister, Christine Tran, Kaitlyn De Tevis, Lauren Emella Camerino Fernandez. Bottom row: Leilah Huttner, Meadow McGee, Owen Switzer, Lindsay J O'Leary, Natalia Pedraza. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Theater
The following students have been named as nominees in theater. A total of 211 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Aliso Niguel High School | Carson Adams, Ariel Christensen, Ace Etienne, Olivia Irwin, April Simpson
Beckman High School | Charlie Banister, Emerson Brooks, Taylor Choi, Andrew Dove, Jay Johnson, Kaley Le, Rebecca Nazareth, Oliver Tomczak
Braver Players Musical Theater Foundation | Autumn Francis, Julie Mabitad
Capistrano Valley High School | Dylan Droege, Ellie Kim, Sydney McCleave, Hailey Poirier, Millie Rosen, Lauren Swan, Elle Vega
Coast High School | Collin Higgins
Costa Mesa High School | Naomi Ahara, Logan Bell, Diego Chavez, Beschen Dietrich, Karla Gurrola, Andi Yoltzin Lopez, Samantha Rodriguez, Sofia Roisin Sanchez, Jason Lee Strotman
Cypress High School | Naomi Allen, Dorian Carrillo Ferrer, Juliana Dubois, Devan Forester, Tyler Michaela Hernandez, John Brandon Mendoza, Collette Terrebonne, Natalie Grace Uy, Christine Vega
Dana Hills High School | Bell Basalla, Lani Earley, Teya Linde, Mars O’Kane, Odie Thomas
El Dorado High School | JD Cavalluzzi, Kaitlyn De Tevis, Bailey Erney, Avery Henkenius, Riley Mills, Link Montgomery, Makaela Moore, Fernando Nuñez Coindreau, Owen Switzer
Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Valentino Kitchen, Kayla Patel, Isabella Sera Porretta, Pele Ramirez, Ethan K. Ruiz, Caitlyn Trujillo
Fountain Valley High School | Lizzy Doan, Logan English, Alexa Gameros, Chelsea Grack, Kendall Hester, Mason Liger, Lucy Marbut, Alaisha Martone, Sage McWilliams, Katie Miller, Alex Oberg
Fullerton Union High School | Isabel Calvo, Finley Danson, Zoe McLaughlin, Cynthia Montiel-Cruz, Ashley Nava, Alejandro Thompson, Katherine Timmerman
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts | Nathan Andreas, Taven Blanke, Laurel Penny Brookhyser, Lana Cheng, Colin Eaton, Kelsie Eckert, Harrison Hartin, Benjamin Marshall, Rosy Martin, Cameron Elizabeth Mullin, Ben Penney, Zoya I. Sanati, Elizabeth Volonte, Izabella Vosper
John F. Kennedy High School | Jia Igama, Brooklyn Loken
La Quinta High School | Christine Tran
Laguna Beach High School | Mason Bruderer, Catherine Jordan, Joe Joe Lieber, Maris Morgan, Lauren Norrix
Mater Dei High School | Ty Joseph Bragalone, Brooke Carmody, Soluna Chavez, Lucas Cruz, Bella De Libro, Khoi Doan, Catherine Eddy, Lauren Emella Camerino Fernandez, Gianna Galindo, Micah Golden, Grace Henze, Briel Jim, Abbie Kerr, Piper McClave, Thomas Mitchell, Shyler Ray Satina, Danielle Taber
Mission Viejo High School | Emilie Berrier, Jackson Maxwell, Amy Melchior, Annabelle Shumaker, Brielle Thomson
Newport Harbor High School | Eden Joye Newcott
Northwood High School | Elisa Bae, Hannah Davidson, Ginee Hong, Kamron Jamali, Nikki Mila de la Roca, Olivia Outwater, Charlie Parris, Kathleen Shumate, Kyra Lynn Silver, Meiwen Zajtmann
Ocean View High School | Dulce Rabano
Orange County School of the Arts | Enzo Consani, Tessa Espinola, Mary Hong, Isabella Kim, Kaya Sparnicht, Ciara Tadeo, Erin Tardibuono
Orange Lutheran High School | William DePorto, Lindsay J O’Leary, Remington Walker, Juliana Bella Zonni
Pacifica High School | Micheal Rogers
Portola High School | Kayla Henderson, Andrea Morales Concepcion, Kimberly Wang, Jiaqi (Kiki) Yang
Private instructor Melissa Caldretti | Ashley Hong
Private instructor Sophia Callisto | Soleil Farris
San Clemente High School | Ryan Cochrun, Ella Corinne Corbridge, Thelo du Halgouet, Dylan Johnson, Emalia Mae Probert, Avery Santore, Mia Smith
San Juan Hills High School | Isabella Bassett, Luke Dunphy, Mason Haydon, Grace Holley, Gwendolyn Nishti, Leo Perry, Vanessa Roselli, Emma Rose Somers, Clayton Wittman
Santa Ana High School | Cici De La Riva, Devin Gonzalez, Haniel Guerrero, Nadia Jaramillo, Natalia Pedraza
Servite High School | Philip Riebli
Sonora High School | Diego Arballo, Lilyan Casillas, Alyssa Cobian, Adriné Perez, Nikolas Ramos, Mia Zilberman
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Link Canchola, Saba Farjami, Coco Johnson, Lynden Kim, Tessa Maryott, Kimberly Pelayo-Ayala, Gavin Shams, Mac Ullem
Sunny Hills High School | Katie Handley, Caleb Van Hook
Tesoro High School | Zacharia Alweheiby, Aurora Biriba, Addison Engelken, Lindsey Garrel, Abby Jacobs, Meadow McGee, Ellie Smallwood, Caitlyn Willoughby
Trabuco Hills High School | Chloe Maire Gosselin, Ethan McKindley, Jaylen Verdun, Claire Vincent
Trinitas Arts Conservatory | Caleb Albert Simmons
University High School | Francisco Ochoa
Yorba Linda High School | Andrew Gardner, Raven Hale, Leilah Huttner, Cosette McCulloch, Addyson Shoup, Jennalyn Urquico
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Vocal music nominees. Top row, from left: Magda Afra Loreto, Storm Anderson, Kira Bettencourt, Isaiah Medina, Joules Recana. Bottom row: Alex Santos, Henry Courtney, Heart Perez, Ava Gange-Brown, Cameryn Stallings. All pictures provided by the student nominees.
Vocal Music
The following students have been named as nominees in vocal music. A total of 119 students were nominated by teachers and private instructors at Orange County high schools and arts organizations.
Beckman High School | Derin Apay, Max Cho, Breanna Nash, Suraj Shah, Oliver Tomczak, Madison Wilbert, Aaron Wimbley
Brea Olinda High School | Aubrianna Buonauro, Adeline Cooper, Kayla Lentini, Gavin McCarthy, Alicia Rose Montano, Sienna Rodriguez, Felicity Rytky, Megan Smylie, Camila Velez
Capistrano Valley High School | Delaney Cicon, Magda Afra Loreto, Jaden Michota, Taylor Storie, Yaaziel Olivo Vargas Villalba, Aubrey Vaughan
Costa Mesa High School | Magnolia Breslin, Riley Dow, Anne Rasmussen
El Dorado High School | Elise Shum, Avalina Thomas
Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Caitlyn Trujillo
Fullerton Union High School | Isabel Juliet Calvo, Andrew Cazares, Finley Danson, Grace Holbrook, Zoe McLaughlin, Alejandro Thompson, Kamryn Valenzuela
Garden Grove High School | Makayla Mitton, Nicolas Nguyen, Daniela Nieto
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts | Storm Anderson, Nathan Andreas, Kira Bettencourt, Taven Blanke, Laurel Penny Brookhyser, Evan DiCarlo, Kayden Golper, Danica Joy Hemmens, Sophia Mack, Brooklyn Menchaca, Liliana Morales, Sophia Reyes, Amiah Robinett, Kiara Sims, Avery Tompkins
Irvine High School | Maddox Kreil
John F. Kennedy High School | Nick Castro, Trishna Malate, Cameryn Stallings
Los Alamitos High School | Barron Bliss-Frisinger, Jenna Currey, Jackson Ferrier, Joseph Santagata
Mater Dei High School | Lauren Emella Camerino Fernandez, Briel Kiara Jim, Lucy Laubach, Luke Petersen
Milena Kitic Vocal Studio | Henry Courtney, Laura Lo, Heart Perez, Lavinia Lotus Watkins
Orange County School of the Arts | Amber Bach, Madison Becerra, Lal Besir, Summer Brennan, Celine Curtis, Claire Harmsen, Zane Herrmann, Estella Sky Keyoung, Isabella (Iris) Le, Joules Recana, Eliza Tait, Jaden Yoo, William Yu
Oxford Academy | Aditri Harish
Pacifica High School | Alexandra Case, Rory Parrott, Afton Simpson
Private instructor Melissa Caldretti | Maya Donnelly, Sadie Hsu
Samueli Academy | Azaleah Garcia
San Clemente High School | Emerson Donnellan, Karina Eliza Hutchinson, Duilio Ramirez, Will Turner
Santa Ana High School | Angel Chirinos, Moncerrat Garcia Castro, Nadia Jaramillo, Oscar Manuel Lopez Rayo, Isaac Mayorga, Beverly Arlynn Mazon, Roberto perez Aguillon, Erick Rodriguez, Rebecca Lilliana Vu
St. Margaret's Episcopal School | Greta Blau, Sienna Ganem, Tessa Maryott
Tesoro High School | Hailey Anne Curtis, Sawyer Damron, Lila Devine, Ava Gange-Brown, Bee Mathewson, Isaiah Medina, Mia Muscarella, Jenna Mazen Radwan, Alex Santos, Brooke Walker
University High School | Chloe Schiffman
Yorba Linda High School | Jasper Chen, Kara Thompson, Angela Umholtz
Heide Janssen, author of this story, is the managing editor for Culture OC and the executive producer for Artist of the Year.
