`FAME' SCHOOL AN AUDITION AWAY; STUDENTS TRY OUT FOR ARTS CAMPUS.Byline: Cynthia L. Webb Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Vocalist Michelle Griepentrog has the voice of a professional songstress song·stress n. 1. A woman who performs songs, especially ballads or popular songs. 2. A woman who writes songs. See Usage Note at -ess. , but she's still nervous. Pacing outside the audition room, she hums some notes as she waits for her one chance to sing her heart out for a spot at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA or Arts High) is a public high school that operates on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles. Though it shares facilities with the university, the two schools' activities tend to be separate. . ``Take a deep breath,'' a judge said after calling her inside to perform Sunday. The 16-year-old closed her eyes for a moment and then sang a love ballad, her braces the only reminder that she is still just a high school student. She smiled after the judge called her performance ``very nice.'' ``I feel a lot better now,'' she said, moments after finishing. ``If I don't get in, I'll continue with my music lessons, but I will try again next year.'' Griepentrog is one of up to 1,000 junior high and high school students vying for 184 openings at the public arts high school - one of five ``specialized'' secondary public high schools in the country. Applicants must wait until May to find out if they will be attending the school in the fall. The visual and performing arts high school, located 10 miles east of downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , is billed as the ``Fame'' school of the West by its administration. Some 500 students dance, sing, act and create art along with taking regular classes. Jenna Elfman of the ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. series ``Dharma dharma (där`mə). In Hinduism, dharma is the doctrine of the religious and moral rights and duties of each individual; it generally refers to religious duty, but may also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue. and Greg'' graduated from the school; Celine Dion's warm-up partner for the Grammys graduated in June. The school, founded in 1985, is an alternative to traditional public education - though a costly one. While it is part of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County public school system, Principal D'liese Melendrez said it takes about $3.5 million to run the program. Arts High gets the same budget as other state-funded schools - the rest is gathered through grants, fund-raising - even bake sales. School officials estimate they need an additional $500,000 to continue to offer quality programs. ``It's a nightmare and it's a struggle. How many cookies can we sell?'' said Nancy Somers, president of the school's PTA PTA or parent-teacher association: see parent education. . But the school, Somers said, gives students with talent and at least a C average the unique opportunity to study in an atmosphere that usually is reserved for private schools. Some 75 percent of its students go on to universities, and the school boasts a zero dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human rate, though some move or get transferred back to a ``regular'' high school. Classes are held in rooms on the California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L.A., CSULA, or "'CSLA"') is a public university, part of the California State University system. , campus, where students spend half their days in academic classes and the other half with professional instructors in their artistic field of interest. Creativity spills into academic classes too: Some students recently did a rap song on the theory of relativity theory of relativity Einstein’s contribution to the space-time relationship. [Science: NCE, 843–844] See : Turning Point for their physics class. ``It stands apart. I think they need more programs like this,'' said Somers, whose 16-year-old daughter is graduating in June. The high school is getting more and more talented applicants, attracting interest from as far away as Europe and Asia. Some interested students move in with relatives to be able to apply for a spot. On Sunday, the hallways of the music building were filled with anxious parents and nervous students preparing for their tryout. Sounds of violins, pianos and opera poured out of various ``audition'' rooms. Casey Yoshitake, 13, came out of one room, his violin dwarfing his small hands. ``It was OK,'' said the teen, showing a mouth of braces with a smile of relief. ``I screwed up on my scale.'' Yoshitake wants to be a part of the next freshman class. The appeal? ``I want to be around music people,'' he said. Though not all students graduate and go on to be stars or even stay in an artistic field, school officials say the rigorous program provides students with a well-rounded base to excel after high school. Larry Vasquez, 16, wants to get into the school to focus on his bass playing. The sophomore, who plays in a band and practices up to six hours a day, is willing to leave his other high school in Whittier, about 30 miles away, to attend. ``This is it,'' he said. If Vasquez doesn't get in, he said he'll try again the second semester. ``I could really learn here.'' CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO Michelle Gaffrey of Sierra Madre Sierra Madre, city, United States Sierra Madre (sēĕr`ə mä`drā), residential city (1990 pop. 10,762), Los Angeles co., S Calif., at the foot of Mt. Wilson; inc. 1907. There is some light manufacturing. goes over music she will play on her violin in her audition for the High School for the Arts. John Hayes/Associated Press |
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