Music Center names semifinalists


Four local students have been named in the 32nd annual Spotlight Program of the Music Center in Los Angeles.

A total of 113 Southern California high school students received the honor.

The local semifinalists are, along with their age, talent, hometown and school, are:

Benjamin Conn, 12, jazz instrumental, Agoura Hills, Agoura High School.

Cole Petridis, 10, jazz instrumental, Westlake Village, Agoura High School.

Daniel Wang, 9, classical instrumental, Simi Valley, Westlake High School.

Hannah Garret, 11, acting, Simi Vallery, Sierra Canyon Upper School.

Spotlight is a free scholarship and arts training program for teens. Since its launch in 1988, the program has provided students the opportunity to develop their performance abilities; learn about careers in arts management; and receive college preparedness and workforce readiness skills to pursue the arts.

This year, nearly 1,400 teens representing more than 260 schools, 198 cities and eight counties auditioned for the program.

The Music Center named the semifinalists in seven categories: acting, ballet, nonclassical dance, classical voice, nonclassical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental.

Semifinalists receive an opportunity to attend a special master class in their genre with professional artists, who provide students with feedback on their performances.

Each semifinalist will audition again before a new panel of judges, who will then select the top two finalist performers in each category for a total of 14 grand-prize finalists. Judges will also name an honorable mention in each category. The grand-prize finalists will perform in the Spotlight Grand Finale Performance at the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre. The performance is currently scheduled for May 30.

The Spotlight program awards more than $100,000 in cash scholarships annually for the grandprize finalists in each category, each honorable mention and each semifinalist.

All Spotlight semifinalists will be awarded scholarship dollars to the summer camp and Arts Academy for the 2020-21 academic year at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.

For more information about the Spotlight program, visit www.musiccenter.org/spotlight.