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    Orange County high school Artist of the Year 2025 nominees announced
    • March 16, 2025

    The Orange County Register is proud to announce the 2025 nominees for the Artist of the Year program.

    Originally created as a companion to Register’s long-standing annual high school Athlete of the Year honors, this program honors top junior and senior artists in Orange County as nominated by their arts teachers.

    In this 12th year, 923 students were nominated, representing 82 local high schools, arts organizations and private arts instructors.

    Based on the most recent data collected by the California Department of Education, 77,931 juniors and seniors were enrolled in Orange County during the 2023-2024 school year, indicating that this year’s class of nominees represents the top 1.2% of all juniors and seniors in the county.

    Students are nominated by arts teachers and private instructors in seven different disciplines: theater, dance, film and TV, vocal music, instrumental music, media arts and fine arts.

    Following this initial nomination, a panel of arts educators narrows down the lists and chooses 16 semifinalists in each discipline to move on to a round of in-person interviews with arts professionals and arts faculty from Orange County universities. The semifinalists will be announced on April 20. The top finalists and Artist of the Year for each discipline will be announced on April 27.

    On Wednesday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m., an awards ceremony will be held in Memorial Hall on the Chapman University campus where the top seven students will perform and present their work. This celebration is free and open to the public.

    This year, Segerstrom Center for the Arts has become a lead sponsor of this program.

    “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,” says 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.”

    Segerstrom Center joins Chapman University College of Performing Arts, under the leadership of its new dean, Anne Hogan, in supporting Artist of the Year. Chapman has been supporting this program since the 2020 season.

    “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,” said Hogan. “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.”

    These sponsorships are vital to the continued success and growth of Artist of the Year.  Additional support is provided this year by Arts Orange County.

    If you would like to support Artist of the Year with a donation, you can contribute here. Donations will be made to Arts Orange County on behalf of Artist of the Year.

    If you are interested in helping Artist of the Year grow by becoming a sponsor of this program, send an email to [email protected].

    All students nominated are listed here with the school or arts organization that they represent. Find this story online at ocregister.com to read endorsements from the students’ teachers and links to samples of the students’ work.

    To view the complete list of nominees for each discipline, endorsements from the students’ teachers and links to samples of the students’ work, click on the links below.

     

    ​ Orange County Register 

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