Seventy Six PYLUSD High School Students Recognized as 2026 Orange County Artist of the Year Nominees

The Orange County Register has recently announced the 2026 nominees for its annual Artist of the Year awards. Each nominee has been recognized in one of several artistic disciplines, including fine arts, dance, theater, instrumental music, vocal music, film and television, fine arts and media arts. This year, a total of 76 high school students from the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) have received nominations across all seven categories.

This year, 888 students were nominated, representing 88 local high schools, arts organizations, and private arts instructors in recognition of their exceptional artistic abilities. Following the nomination process, a panel of arts educators will conduct in-person interviews to select the semi-finalists for the Artist of the Year awards. The list of semi-finalists is scheduled for publication on Sunday, April 19. The program culminates in a public awards celebration on Wednesday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus. During the ceremony, the top students will be announced and are invited to perform and present their work. The event is free and open to the public.

The district extends its congratulations to all PYLUSD students who have been recognized for their dedication and artistic achievements. Their names and respective schools are listed below.

Film and TV

• Melody Choi — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Melany Medina Cabrera — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Barron Syams — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Julian Bautista — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Joyce Chang — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Fernando Nunez — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Sophia Smith — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Autumn Treister — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Claire Ng — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School, nominated by FilmED Academy of the Arts
• Skylar Snyder — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Christina Wright — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School

Fine Arts

• Natalie Ortiz — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Samantha Pak — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Rachael Park — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Karson Suh — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Presley Asuncion — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Suah Cha — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Augustyna Hartman — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Erik Lenz — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Jaslene Ortiz-Guillen — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Lucius Acker — 12th Grade (Senior) — Esperanza High School
• Grey Jandorf — 11th Grade (Junior) — Valencia High School
• Mira Lake — 11th Grade (Junior) — Valencia High School
• Thomas Chavez — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School
• Damian Slavkov — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School

Instrumental Music

• Gracie Fox — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Tennessee Freese — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Quentin Gomez — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Jack Lewis — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Casey Cunningham — 11th Grade (Junior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Gwendolyn Nielsen — 11th Grade (Junior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Maria Bates — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Conner Hearron — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Sarah Kang — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Noah Lee — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School

Media Arts

• Nathaniel DeBree — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Amy Cornelius — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Nadeen Jaridly — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Cadence Ladewig — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Jocelyn Lee — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Sarah Trinh — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Fatima De La Cruz — 11th Grade (Junior) — Valencia High School
• Ana Sandoval — 11th Grade (Junior) — Valencia High School
• Kailani Cabaccang — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School
• Eppie Cabral — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School
• Edgar Ceja Meza — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School
• Violet Michel — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School
• Ethan Huynh — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School

Theater

• Melody Choi — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Tessa Moore — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Evan Morikawa — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Kaitlyn De Tevis — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Avery Gaiennie-Lovell — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Olivia Girgis — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Makaela Moore — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Fernando Nuñez — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Griffin Davis — 12th Grade (Senior) — Valencia High School
• Aaron Alonso — 11th Grade (Junior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Matthew Folkin — 11th Grade (Junior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Jack Spillane — 11th Grade (Junior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Andrew Gardner — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Hasti Khodabandehlou — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Kaylie Lam — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Nathan Song — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School

Vocal Music

• Alexis Catalano — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Jenevieve Goyer — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Anai Juan-Enriquez — 11th Grade (Junior) — El Dorado High School
• Avery Gaiennie-Lovell — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Kaitlyn Gallegos — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Augustyna Hartman — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Avalina Thomas — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Meilani Toran — 12th Grade (Senior) — El Dorado High School
• Erica Lee — 11th Grade (Junior) — Valencia High School
• Jasper Chen — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Giabella Reale — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School
• Kara Thompson — 12th Grade (Senior) — Yorba Linda High School

Click here to view the Orange County Register Artist of the Year Nominees Article