All Southern California High School Students Invited to Apply

LOS ANGELES (August 28, 2006) -The Music Center of Los Angeles County invites Southern California high school performers, artists and photographers to apply for the 19th Annual Music Center Spotlight Awards.

The program is free and open to all students who attend high school in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties at time of deadline. Applications and information are available at musiccenter.org or by calling (213) 972-3300. Performing Arts applications must be received online or postmarked by no later than Tuesday, October 3, 2006. Visual Arts applications must be received online or postmarked by no later than Friday, December 1, 2006.

The Music Center Spotlight Awards program was established in 1988 and is one of the nation's most acclaimed performing and visual arts educational programs for teens. The program has launched numerous professional careers-thirteen finalists are Presidential Scholars and many have joined professional companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

High school students audition in the Performing Arts categories of ballet, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental, and jazz instrumental before professional judges who then select 15 semifinalists. All semifinalists attend master classes and audition to become one of two finalists in each art form. The 12 performance finalists-two from each category-will compete at the 19th Annual Music Center Spotlight Awards on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los Angeles. Winners receive $6,000 and $3,000 respectively.

The Visual Arts categories are photography (black/white, color and digital) and two-dimensional design (works of art with height and width but no depth, using drawing, painting, computer generated or mixed media). All visual arts participates will be invited to attend master classes and museum tours. Winners receive $6,000; runners-up received $3,000 and will be showcased in a special reception at an art gallery in Bergamot Station on Sunday, March 11, 2007.

Fred Roberts is founding chairman of the Music Center Spotlight Awards; Dennis Beck is chairman and Walter Grauman creator/executive producer. The program is a project of the Fraternity of Friends, a volunteer membership organization of men who support the Music Center.

Bank of America is the principal sponsor of the Music Center Spotlight Awards. The program is also supported by the Max H. Gluck Foundation, the Dorothy B. Chandler Program Fund, the Walter Lantz Foundation, Eloise C. Goodhew Barnett, the Young Foundation, the James B. Pendleton Foundation, and the Claire and Theodore Morse Foundation. Helen and Peter Bing provide scholarship awards for winners and runners-up in performing arts categories.

For more information about the Music Center Spotlight Awards program, call 213-972-3300 or visit musiccenter.org.