Five Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) students were recently identified as 2024 Artist of the Year Finalists by the Orange County Register Register. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Orange County Register Artist of the Year Program is in its 11th year and open to junior and senior high school students. It is co-sponsored by The Register and Chapman University. Overall nominations this year reached 892 in 2024, up from 113 that first year in 2013: Film and TV had 60 nominees; Media Arts, 85; Vocal Music, 98; Dance, 101; Instrumental Music, 138; Fine Arts, 177; and Theater, 233.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congratulations to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nJD Cavalluzzi, Division 2: <\/strong>Cavalluzzi decided on taking a class in theater design at El Dorado High in Placentia because his best friend was going to and, what the heck, Cavalluzzi needed the credit. He found his calling. He\u2019s designed props for seven shows, including doggie string puppets for \u201cThe Book of Dog.\u201d Cavalluzzi, 17 and a junior, impressed the judges with his sophistication.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Fine Arts<\/span>
Ethan Larsen, Esperanza High School<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nEthan Larsen, Division 2: <\/strong>Album covers and the \u201cvibe\u201d of the hard-core punk and metal music he listens to are Larsen\u2019s greatest inspirations. \u201cI like to think of my work as myself and the music, which is why it looks rough around the edges.\u201d He\u2019s OK with mistakes when he\u2019s sculpting; he leaves them in. He purposely nicks his pieces to \u201cmake them look all torn up.\u201d The senior at Esperanza High in Anaheim explained how \u201cgood or bad, it still makes you feel something.\u201d But ceramics isn\u2019t cheap, the 18-year-old pointed out. That\u2019s got him thinking about becoming an electrician.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Film<\/span><\/strong>
Hunaina Hirji, Yorba Linda High School
Macy Patterson, El Dorado High School
Tahlia Pompel, El Dorado High School<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nHunaina Hirji, Division 1: <\/strong>She is a repeat finalist. Her ability at creating bespoke sounds for a short commercial she debuted for her Artist of the Year presentation this year stood out to the judges. Her work was very precise, said Andy Lane, associate professor of storytelling at Chapman University\u2019s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where Hirji hoped to study film design. \u201cGreat work,\u201d Lane told the 18-year-old Hirji. \u201cYou\u2019ll be in big demand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nMacy Patterson, Division 1:<\/strong> Patterson wrote and directed the short film \u201cI Just Want to Be Pretty.\u201d It explores the relationship between two sisters, the younger one\u2019s desire to feel pretty like her sibling, and a cruel joke that brings them closer together. It was shot over 48 hours with a crew of 20 from El Dorado High for a film competition. A huge fan of \u201cBarbie\u201d and \u201cLady Bird\u201d director Greta Gerwig, Patterson, 18, said she is tired of films that depict women tearing at each other. \u201cIt\u2019s important to show relationships of being with each other, lifting each other up, and bonding.\u201d She plans to attend film school at Chapman.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nTahlia Pompel, Division 1:<\/strong>\u00a0Pompel, a cinematographer, did her Artist of the Year presentation by Zoom, from 5,000 miles away. She was in Edinburgh, Scotland, along with classmates and teachers from El Dorado High in Placentia on \u201ckind of a school trip.\u201d Even with a few glitches in the transmission, Pompel ably spoke about a PSA on the mental health of teens that was based in part on her own poetry. Her message: \u201cLife will always be full of struggle. Find the little joys in between.\u201d She\u2019s 17 and a senior who was accepted into her dream school, New York University for film, but also got into Chapman and Emerson College in Boston.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Teachers from local high school, including 272 in all this year from 85 entities, nominate studnents for the recognition. A group of semifinalists are then given 15 minutes each to show their artistry and answer questions from a panel of judges tailored to each discipline. The judges are college and high school instructors, working professionals, and leaders from Orange County\u2019s arts institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n