Meet the 7 high school students who took top honors in dance, film/animation, theater, instrumental music, vocal music, computer-assisted visual arts and handcrafted visual arts.
This year, for the first time, artists endured an entire year of pandemic restrictions affecting and impinging on their work. Despite it all, a field of 616 juniors and seniors from 72 Orange County schools and organizations were nominated for the eighth year of the Register’s Artist of the Year accolades. Artists found ways to create, sometimes distanced, sometimes masked, often in digital spaces. Many used the time to turn inward and discover newer and deeper levels within themselves. Teachers tailored lesson plans for distance learning and scrambled to keep students engaged without the in-person interactions that can light creative sparks. Performers persevered without the roar of the crowd. “Music and art find a way,” said singer Catherine Johnston, a senior at the Orange County School of the Arts and Artist of the Year in vocal music.
