MELODY MAKERS; FIVE AREA TEENS TO COMPETE FOR MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer AGOURA HILLS - For five local teen-ager performers, the hours spent practicing have paid off as they were named among the 67 semi-finalists for the 12th annual Spotlight Awards. The students - who competed in dance, voice and instrumental music - were chosen from more than 800 teens competing for the Performing Arts Center-sponsored scholarships. ``It's a somewhat difficult process to get past the judges,'' said Barbara Haig, the center's special projects producer. ``Not only do they have technical skill, they also have the abilty to interest the audience and give the audience something more.'' The local semi-finalists are: Megan Ampe, a 17-year-old ballerina from Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. ; Hank Florence, 17-year-old baritone tenor from Camarillo; Kevin Fukagawa, 18, a pianist from Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. ; Michal Alida Humer, 15, a ballet dancer from Oak Park; and Justin Johnson, an 18-year-old drummer from Agoura Hills. Johnson said he has been playing drums seriously for seven years but got his first inspiration 13 years ago when his family moved to Agoura from Denver. ``My next-door neighbor played drums - rock and roll,'' he said. ``He had a drum set and as a kid, I was easily influenced by that. As soon as I was able to get one, I started. And it's been a passion ever since.'' Over the next few months, the semi-finalists will work in a master class with a professional and auditions will determine the finalists. The two in each category to reach that stage will perform on April 17 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center (which is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the United States). The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. in 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. . The winners will receive a $5,000 scholarship and the runners-up will receive $2,500. Florence, a senior at Camarillo High School, said this was his first competition and he thought the judges wanted to see energized selections, where he could ham it up Verb 1. ham it up - exaggerate one's acting ham, overact, overplay dramatic art, dramaturgy, theater, theatre, dramatics - the art of writing and producing plays . He sang a tune from the musical ``Sweeney Todd,'' in which the sadistic sa·dism n. 1. The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. 2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. barber decides that everyone in his English town deserves to die, as well as a ``cheesy cheesy (che´ze) caseous. love song'' from ``Evita.'' But with the letter notifying him that he was a semi-finalist, he also was advised to find other songs because the judges didn't like his choices. Still, what could have been a misstep turned out to be a good move. ``I can carry a tune but it's not great,'' he said. ``So I think it was sort of a good thing I sang the songs they didn't like. Because I did something big and loud, I think they remembered it.'' Ampe, a senior at Westside Academy in Moorpark, said she was excited by the prospect of competing. This is her second shot as a semi-finalist in the event. She started dancing seven years ago, and knew by the time she was 14 that she wanted to make it a career. ``The feeling I have when I'm dancing, it's like I can be anything I want to be,'' she said. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Agoura High School Agoura High School is a four-year high school, freshman-senior, in Agoura Hills, California, United States. It is the largest high school in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. senior Justin Johnson, along with four other area students, are semifinalists in the 12 annual Spotlight Awards sponsored by the Performing Arts Center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. . The students will compete for music scholarships. Johnson has been playing drums for seven years and was inspired to play be a neighbor. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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