TALENT SPOTLIGHTED PALMDALE TEEN SINGER STANDS OUT IN AUDITIONS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer PALMDALE - For a second time, a Palmdale singer has been named a semifinalist in the Los Angeles Music Center The Music Center (officially named the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the nation. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the Music Center is home to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater, Mark Taper competition showcasing talented Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, high school performers. Whitney Vigil, a 17-year-old senior in Palmdale High School's Visual and Performing Arts Academy, is competing in the Spotlight Awards category for musical theater singers. ``It's been an honor to be nominated for a second year, and maybe this year I will go further and be a finalist,'' Vigil said. Vigil, one of 89 semifinalists in the 17th annual Spotlight Awards, has been performing in musical theater since she was 5. Her first role was as an orphan in ``Oliver'' in 1993 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Theater, and next she played a lead role in ``Annie.'' In summer 2003, she was Dorothy in ``The Wizard of Oz'' at the Lancaster 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. , and later that year she played the lead as Jane in ``Babes in Toyland'' at the Palmdale Playhouse. Next year Vigil plans to attend college either at the California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts known as CalArts U.S. private institution of higher learning in Valencia. Created in 1961 through the merger of two other art institutes, it was the first in the U.S. in Valencia or at Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University, at Pittsburgh, Pa.; est. 1967 through the merger of the Carnegie Institute of Technology (founded 1900, opened 1905) and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research (founded 1913). in Pennsylvania. Her ultimate goal is to sing on Broadway. ``I have that gift. I love performing for people,'' Vigil said. The 89 semifinalists were selected from more than 800 who auditioned in categories of ballet, nonclassical dance, classical singing, nonclassical singing, classical instrumental music and jazz instrumental music. ``It's wonderful. It was really hard this year because they were expecting so much more out of me. It was really difficult getting there because there is so much talent this year,'' Vigil said. Semifinalists attend a master class and compete at auditions that determine the two finalists in each category. Each audition concludes with a special reception for the students and their families, and each semifinalist receives a stipend sti·pend n. A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. [Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st of $100 in recognition of high achievement. Finalists will be announced in March and will compete April 17 at the Spotlight Awards gala 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. . Winners will receive $6,000 each, and the runners-up will get $3,000 each. Begun in 1988, the Spotlight Awards program is a major artistic competition for Southern California's high school students who plan careers in performing or visual arts visual arts npl → artes fpl plásticas visual arts npl → arts mpl plastiques visual arts npl → . The program expanded to include visual arts in 1996 and photography in 1999. Semifinalists in those categories will be announced in February. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Whitney Vigil, 17, a singer in Palmdale High's Visual and Performing Arts Academy, is a semifinalist in 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. Music Center's Spotlight Awards program. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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