From a list of 92 nominees, the following 15 students have been selected as semifinalists for the 2022 Artist of the Year in instrumental music. The students were chosen by a panel of teachers based on written statements, performance videos and artistic résumés.
Included are links to their work, the specialty in which they were nominated, and quotes about how they relate to their craft.
Instrumental musicians were nominated in the specialties of jazz, piano and strings, winds and percussion, and world/cultural and commercial music.
During the final round of adjudication, students are interviewed by a panel of distinguished artistic professionals and faculty members from Southern California universities. Interviews include a live presentation by the students followed by a question-and answer-session.
One finalist in each specialty will be named as well as an overall Artist of the Year in each of the seven disciplines – theater, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, film, handcrafted visual arts and computer-assisted visual arts.
The Artists of the Year will be announced on May 1.
This program is generously sponsored by the Chapman University College of Performing Arts. Additional support is provided by the Laguna College of Art + Design and the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.
If you would like to become a sponsor for the Artist of the Year program, contact Heide Janssen at ocartistoftheyear@gmail.com.
Diego Dilao, junior, Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Specialty: World/cultural and commercial music
“As a performer, I don’t really have much experience in composing my own music, but playing pieces and interpreting and manipulating the phrases to get my own meaning or emotion out of it is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world for me. Of course, that doesn’t mean I haven’t composed at all. I’ll admit that making something that you can truly call your own feels good as well.”
Jack Griffin, senior, Valencia High School
Specialty: Winds and percussion
“Instrumental music has impacted my life greatly inside of instrumental music as well as outside of it. My part in instrumental music has inspired me to continue on with other artistic endeavors such as music production, both in live and home studio situations. Through this I have gotten to make my own music as well as work with live bands on stage where I produce the audio that comes out of the speakers.”
Jonathan Kang, junior, Northwood High School
Specialty: Winds and percussion
“As a musician, I have always wondered how I can make the world a better place. Oftentimes, musicians can be too focused on winning competitions or succeeding in auditions, but helping others and improving our world is ultimately far more important to me than winning competitions. I want to tangibly improve the world by helping others. Thus, I’ve looked for ways to combine my passion for music with my drive to improve our world, and that came in the form of performance volunteering.”
Aaron Kim, senior, Valencia High School
Specialty: Piano and strings
“Music is such a huge part of my life that I cannot imagine what my life would be without it. I use music to help me paint my own masterpiece. Not only am I talking about creating a fresh interpretation of the music, but the fact that I can share my perspectives and creation with others brings me so much joy. Everybody is unique in their own way and everyone has a different perspective or emotional attachment to the art they create.”
Esther Kim, senior, Woodbridge High School
Specialty: Winds and percussion
“It is still very unclear what I’ll be doing in the future. However, I know that I want to become a person that gives people positive influence through my music. Especially to the people going through hard times. When I think of how I got more influenced by the idea of music, I think of the time when I heard Ballade No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 47 played by Seong Jin Cho. It was a time when I was going through hard times with my personal life. However, when I heard that, I felt sudden peace and calmness in my heart.”
Angela Lee, senior, Pacific Academy
Specialty: Piano and strings
“My most important goal is to be a musician with impact. As an advocate for the arts, I hope to use classical piano as a force of positive change by creating an increasingly interconnected community in which I can give back to my audience and my audience motivates me to pursue new experiences for my performances.”
Irene Lee, senior, Northwood High School
Specialty: Piano and strings
“Before I was a musician, I was a writer. And thanks to some serendipitous blend of caffeine and compartmentalization, I often sit at my desk well past midnight, writing random bits of dialogue and planning plotlines in my scores. There’s a universal cliche that music is a language. I understand why it’s so overused, though, because it’s true.”
Xingyao Li, senior, Orange County School of the Arts
Specialty: Piano and strings
“Music even taught me how to navigate new territory, and has provided me with opportunities to forge my own creative path despite the unconventional nature of pursuing a musical career in my Chinese culture and the technical challenges I’ve faced. Beyond a passion, music will allow me to use my own interpretations and style to touch others emotionally, something that no other career path could offer.”
Chloe Lim, senior, Portola High School
Specialty: Piano and strings
“As I learned to play the cello, I found myself (humming classical music). As I read Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1, I could feel my cello sheet music become a written story — the steady low melody would form a march in my mind, the dissentive chords uttering the cry of an impending war. Then with my cello, I would narrate the story once more. Learning to speak the language of music and developing my own twist of the tongue has shaped a large part of my identity and who I am today.”
Ingrid Luo, junior, Sage Hill School
Specialty: Piano and strings
“I was fortunate to be born in a family filled with music. Since birth, I woke up or fell asleep to classical music, whether I was dreaming in a crib or gaping in a wobbling car seat. This deeply rooted love of music offered me unlimited freedom for self-expression, story interpretation, and pursuits of musicality. Music constantly encourages me to challenge my technical capabilities and demonstrate my personality when choosing and exercising a multitude of diverse musical details that could drastically deviate the course of the piece.”
Max Nguyen, senior, Los Alamitos High School
Specialty: Jazz
“The drum set is a living thing. As I matured in life and developed more on the drums, I realized that music and my daily life have a massive crossover. I want to establish this idea first: I put my heart and soul into what I do with the drums; I have made so many discoveries about the music itself and life that I would have never thought of.”
Jose Robles, junior, Westminster High School
Specialty: Jazz
“I just really enjoy playing music with other people and groups. If I do leave an impact on this world though, I want to help get jazz into mainstream music and positively motivate the next generation of musicians with my playing, and writing. Even though I’m not the best player or writer, if I’m able to inspire at least one future musician, or have a few more people enjoy jazz music, I’ve done my job.”
Miguel Angel Tiscareno, junior, Capistrano Valley High School
Specialty: World/cultural and commercial music
“My art form doesn’t have available sheet music. I’ve tried to search online. The only form of Mexican music I have found that has sheet music is mariachi. So if I can arrange the music, write the parts and pass it down, then it won’t get lost. So, I would love to become a music teacher, maybe an orchestra music teacher. I take inspiration from Mr. Waldukat who not only teaches us regular orchestra music, but if there is a spark of cultural music ideas, somewhere in the students and can arrange a piece, he embraces it. It’s the experience I’ve had with him and I want to give, some day in the future, the same things for other students.”
Yian Wang, senior, Northwood High School
Specialty: Jazz
“For most of my life, I missed a fundamental part of being an artist. I started playing classical guitar before I was five. For a long time, it was a drag. I was detached and lacked the knowledge to appreciate the masterful works I played, viewing them as obstacles to the TV. This same feeling returned when I began playing jazz, just with a swing beat. It was not until exploring the improvisational aspect of jazz that I truly discovered what being an artist meant.”
Sein Yun, senior, Orange County School of the Arts
Specialty: Piano and strings
“During (my first in-person rehearsal with the National Youth Orchestra), a wave of emotions struck me. Performing alongside musicians of different backgrounds, I felt the clash and combination of different artistic interpretations blending into one. The synergy was undeniable as each musician sharpened another’s skills. I observed a richness in the songs we played. For the first time, I saw how music could overcome barriers that society presents to us. Musicians’ perspectives on music are impacted by their personal struggles and successes. By performing side-by-side with musicians from across the nation, I tasted the beauty that America represents: diversity.”
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