By Daily Press Staff
Two teen-age Santa Monica musicians have been chosen as semi-finalists for the 14th Annual Spotlight Awards. Sally Sachs and Noah Kaplan were picked from nearly 750 Southern California high school students who auditioned for the competition. They will be joined by 116 of their peers during the second round of auditions, to be held between now and March. Of those 118, only 12 will be selected as finalists to perform at the gala competition April 2 at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Sachs, who plays the bassoon, will compete in the classical instrumental category, while Kaplan, who plays the saxophone, will compete in the jazz instrumental portion. Other categories include classical dance, non-classical dance, classical voice and non-classical voice. Two finalists will be chosen from each category.
Winners receive $5,000 scholarships, while runners-up will get $2,500. For the second year, the Spotlight Awards gala performance will be produced by award-winning producer-director Jeff Margolis, whose 30 years of experience includes his Emmy-nominated productions of the Academy Awards from 1991-96.
Launched in 1988, the Spotlight Awards program is a scholarship competition for Southern California’s most gifted young people who plan to pursue careers in performance or visual arts.
“Ultimately, the Spotlight Awards demonstrate what is possible when young people are exposed to the arts at a young age,” said Fred Roberts, Spotlight Awards chairman.
For more information, contact Spotlight Administrator Jeri Gaile at (213) 202- 2245 or log on to www.musiccenter.org/spot/index.html.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 29, 2002. Read the original PDF.