A P R O G R A M O F T H E T E X A S C U LT U R A L T R U S T
C
ongratulations to the 2020 Class of Texas Young Masters! I am so proud of the dedication, hard work, and passion that
you have demonstrated to reach this level of accomplishment. Your commitment to the arts not only helps to develop perseverance, critical thinking, innovation, collaboration, and creativity, it will also bring you joy for a lifetime. The arts connect us by heart and soul, and now more than ever we need to stay connected, to celebrate the gifts we have been blessed with. Though we cannot be together to celebrate this wonderful honor, know that both the Governor and I, on behalf of all of the people of Texas, congratulate you on being recognized for your extraordinary artistic excellence! You will always bear the title of Texas Young Master. Thank you for making Texas proud.
May God bless you all,
Cecilia Abbott First Lady of Texas
O
ur state and our world are navigating extraordinary circumstances, which prevents us from celebrating and honoring our 2020 Class of
Texas Young Masters in person. We have prepared this digital program to mark this special recognition for these students and their families and also to express our gratitude to the sponsors, Host Committee, and all those who have contributed to the Texas Young Masters scholarship grants and to the planning and producing teams who have spent so much time putting together what would have been the finest celebration to date. Thank you! We hope you will enjoy learning more about these Texas Young Masters. They have spent countless hours training and practicing to get to this level. These young men and women make Texas proud and will be the Texas legends of tomorrow! It’s times such as these that magnify the power of art – as an emotional salve, a reflection of current events, a universal language, and a symbol of hope. Thank you for supporting the arts in Texas during this time.
Warmest regards,
Heidi Marquez Smith
Gary Gibbs, Ph. D.
Texas Cultural Trust Executive Director
Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director
A joint initiative between the Texas Cultural Trust and Texas Commission on the Arts, Texas Young Masters recognizes excellence in 8th through 11th grade students in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, and literary arts and provides Texas’ brightest young artists with scholastic grants of $10,000 over two years to enhance their formal artistic study. The Trust celebrates the new class of Young Masters every biennium with an awards show that highlights their talent and creativity.
www.txculturaltrust.org/young-masters
Congratulations to the 2020 Class of Texas Young Masters Jordan Apodaca, Dallas, 11th Grade, Dance Ava Arbuckle, Frisco, 9th Grade, Dance Hannah Bambach, Dallas, 11th Grade, Literary Arts Haley Beck, Allen, 10th Grade, Dance Christian Burse, Dallas, 10th Grade, Dance Claire Druffner, Dallas, 11th Grade, Music Vincent Garcia-Hettinger, San Antonio, 9th Grade, Music Colby Golightly, North Richland Hills, 11th Grade, Visual Arts Kali Kleiman, Frisco, 11th Grade, Dance Cayden McCoy, League City, 11th Grade, Theater Ellie Palacios, Harlingen, 10th Grade, Musical Theater Isobel Perez, Houston, 10th Grade, Literary Arts Keshav Srinivasan, Austin, 10th Grade, Music Michelle Wang, Sugar Land, 11th Grade, Visual Arts Somesh Yatham, Round Rock, 10th Grade, Music
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Jordan Apodaca Dallas, Dance • 11th Grade Jordan Lee Apodaca is a junior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. He studies dance under Eric Coudron and Camille Billelo Gross at Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre in Frisco. He plans to use his Young Master award to study at the Juilliard School in New York City this summer.
Ava Arbuckle Frisco, Dance • 9th Grade Ava Arbuckle is a 9th grader at iUniversity Prep. She is a founding member of Elite Classical Coaching, where she currently trains in Frisco. She has received the Best Young Talent and Artistry Award presented by the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation. She is a two-time Youth America Grand Prix Award winner and won the Silver Medal at the YAGP 2019 Finals, performing at the Koch Theater in New York City. Ava plans to use her Young Masters award to continue her pre-professional ballet training at the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart, Germany.
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Hannah Bambach Dallas, Literary Arts • 11th Grade Hannah Bambach is an 11th grade student at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. She has been writing for as long as she can remember, and is getting her play “Stalling” produced in late April. Hannah plans to use her Young Masters award to study writing at the Interlochen Center for the Arts summer program.
Haley Beck Allen, Dance • 10th Grade Haley Beck is a 10th grade student at Allen High School. She currently studies with Christy Wolverton-Ryzman at Dance Industry Performing Arts Center in Plano. In the next two years, she plans to use her Young Masters award to study at the Juilliard School and the Nederlands Dans Theater.
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Christian Burse Dallas, Dance • 10th Grade Christian Burse is a 10th grade student at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. She also trains at Dance Industry Performing Arts Center. Christian has been recognized at numerous local, regional, and national dance competitions. She plans to use her Young Masters award to study at the Juilliard School this summer in New York City.
Claire Druffner Dallas, Music • 11th Grade Claire Druffner is an 11th grade student at Coram Deo Academy. She has won numerous prizes in competitions and has soloed with the Plano Symphony Orchestra, the Meadows Symphony Orchestra, and the Houston Civic Symphony. Most recently, she was invited to play on From the Top (show #381) in Key West, Florida, with show co-hosts Elena Urioste and Peter Dugan. Claire has attended many summer festivals including the Greenwood Music Camp, the Heifetz International Music Institute and the Meadowmount School of Music where she studied with Hans Jorgen Jensen. She currently studies with Norman Fischer at Rice University. She hopes to further her love of music as a tool for empathy and understanding. Claire will use her Young Masters award to study at the Meadowmount School of Music this summer.
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Vincent GarciaHettinger San Antonio, Music • 11th Grade Vincent Garcia-Hettinger, age 14, attends Brandeis High School and is a student of Ken Freudigman. For the past two years, Vincent has been selected as a Junior Division Semi-Finalist for the Sphinx Competition. Vincent made his solo debut with the San Antonio Symphony in May 2019, and won the 2018 Youth Orchestras of San Antonio Concerto Competition and the 2018 Interlochen Arts Camp Concerto Competition. He is a recipient of the Sphinx Organization’s MPower Artist Grant. Vincent has performed in master classes for Johannes Moser and Andrei Ionita. He will use his Young Masters award to study at an international music festival this summer.
Colby Golightly Richland, Visual Arts • 10th Grade Colby Golightly is an 11th grade visual arts student studying under Thai Nguyen and Cassidy Cope at Richland High School in Fort Worth. Colby has won many top awards from district, regional, state, and national art competitions. Colby plans to use the Young Masters grant to study at programs offered by the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Paris College of Art.
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Kali Kleiman Frisco, Dance • 11th Grade Kali Kleiman is 16, and a student at iUniversity Prep through the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. She is a first-year student at the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. Kali was a 2019 National YoungArts Winner, and has received many awards from prestigious international ballet competitions. Kali received training locally at The Dallas Conservatory with Jacqueline Porter and Olga Pavlova, with Avant Chamber Ballet, and Mejia Ballet International, as well as nationally with the School of American Ballet, Houston Ballet Academy, the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, and Ellison Ballet. She is a member of Ballet in the City, and models for Dancewear Solutions and Weissman Costumes. Kali is employed by the School of American Ballet as a teacher’s assistant and for their community outreach program, and by the New York City Ballet in their Access Programs for children with disabilities. The support of the Young Masters award will support her attendance at the School of American Ballet.
Texas Young Masters
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2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Cayden McCoy League City, Theater • 11th Grade Cayden McCoy (Theater) is a junior at Clear Springs High School in League City. His acting debut was at the age of five in The Wizard of Oz. Cayden is currently studying with Chelsea McCurdy at the JET-PAC. He is also mentored by his high school theater teachers, Mark Stonebarger and Rozie Curtis. Highlights from his theatrical resume include receiving a University Interscholastic League One-Act Play All Star Cast Honorable Mention, as well as being cast in a leading role for the high school production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last summer. Cayden plans to use his Young Masters award to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy High School Summer Conservatory in Los Angeles, California.
Ellie Palacios Harlingen, Musical Theater • 10th Grade Ellisa “Ellie” Palacios is a sophomore at the Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory. She currently studies voice and theater with Zachary Stutts and Christopher Ikner. Ellie’s accomplishments include the Overall Outstanding Soloist Award at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Performance Competition, as well as a Leading Actress Henry Award nomination for her role as Jo March in “Little Women.” Ellie plans to use her Young Masters award to attend the Nexus Musical Theatre Pre-College Intensive summer program at Texas State University.
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Isobel Perez Houston, Literary Arts • 10th Grade Isobel Perez is a 10th grade student at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston. She was recently published in HSPVA’s literary journal, The Eight. Additionally, she was a recent semi-finalist in Houston’s Space City Poetry Slam. She plans to use her Young Masters award to study at Alfred University’s Creative Writing High School Institute in New York.
Keshav Srinivasan Austin, Music • 10th Grade Keshav Srinivasan has been studying violin with Daniel Gee Cordova for the past 11 years. He is a sophomore at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) in Austin, where he is concertmaster of the honors orchestra. He is a member of the Austin Youth Symphony Orchestra and was selected for the 2020 Texas Music Educators Association’s All-State Symphony Orchestra. Keshav plans to use his Young Masters award to further his violin study at multiple violin institutes this summer.
2020 CLASS OF TEXAS YOUNG MASTERS
Michelle Wang Houston, Visual Arts • 11th Grade Michelle Wang is a junior at Clements High School in Houston. She started oil painting when she was nine years old, and now focuses primarily on portraits and figures. Michelle’s art has been displayed in many local galleries and has won awards at regional and national competitions. She plans to use her Young Masters award to study at the Florence Academy of Art Summer Program.
Somesh Yatham Round Rock, Music • 10th Grade Somesh Yatham (Music Composition) is a 10th grader attending Round Rock High School. After organizing a concert for his first composition at age 14, Somesh has since had his work performed and/or commissioned by the Walsh Middle School Percussion Ensemble, Round Rock High School Rock Drums section, Tetractys New Music, Panoramic Voices, and the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Somesh has also received performance awards for regional and state achievements and is involved in numerous honors societies and clubs. Somesh hopes to work in composition for films, games, and/or any other sort of media. With his Young Masters grant, Somesh hopes to attend the High School Composition Intensive Summer Program at the Berklee College of Music or to receive private lessons from University of Texas Butler School of Music Professor Yevgeniy Sharlat.
“Where words fail, music speaks.� Hans Christian Andersen
Congratulations
T E XAS YOUN G M AST ERS 2020 Dr. Ernest C. Butler and Mrs. Sarah Butler Sarah and Ernest Butler Endowed Young Masters Scholarship in Music
Congratulates the
TEXAS
YOUNG MASTERS
46 Texas locations to serve you. Visit peterpiperpizza.com to find your nearest location.
The Official Airline of the Texas Cultural Trust
SCHOLARSHIP GRANT SPONSORS Dr. Ernest & Sarah Butler Scholarship in Music Texas Women for the Arts Sermoonjoy Fund Jeanne & Michael Klein Guillermo Nicolas & James Foster Judy & Kirk Robison Laura & John Beckworth Wayne Fisher Frost Bank Regan & William Gammon Southwest – The Official Airline of the Texas Cultural Trust
HOST COMMITTEE Mrs. Cecilia Abbott, First Lady of Texas, Honorary Chair Kristin Salyer, Chair Lesa Rossick, Co-Chair
Wendy Harvey, Co-Chair Maya Smart, Co-Chair
Leslie & Jack Blanton Dan W. Jackson III & Dr. Jeremy Guiberteau Kathleen & Ben Keating Mary Lamar Leyendecker Karen & Charles Matthews Sharon & Lawrence Oeschger Margaret Payne Carolyn & Marc Seriff Nelda Trevino Kevin Witcher
MISSION To be the leading voice for the arts in education, advocacy, and economic impact in Texas, spotlighting the artistic excellence of our state.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2019-2020 Leslie Ward Chair, Austin
Linda LaMantia Immediate Past Chair, Laredo
Tania Schwartz Vice Chair, El Paso
Charles Matthews At-Large, Dallas
Marvin Blum Treasurer, Fort Worth
Guillermo Nicolas At-Large, San Antonio
Ray Benson Secretary, Austin
Judy Robison At-Large, El Paso
John Beckworth, Austin Leslie Blanton, Houston Bruce Bugg, Jr., San Antonio Ernest Butler, Austin Ito Deutsch, McAllen Mindy Ellmer, Austin Gay Gaddis, Austin Winell Herron, Houston Alexis Hunter, Corpus Christi Dan W. Jackson III, Austin Renard Johnson, El Paso Gene Jones, Dallas Kathleen Keating, Victoria
Kathleen R. Kennedy, San Antonio Mary Lamar Leyendecker, Laredo Sharon McCullough, Dallas Sharon Oeschger, Amarillo Jay Propes, Austin Kristin Salyer, Austin Kay Sanford, Lubbock Nancy Seliger, Amarillo Mark Watson, San Antonio Andrea White, Houston Pam Willeford, Austin Trisha Wilson, Dallas Darrell Windham, Austin
STAFF Heidi Marquez Smith, Executive Director Jenny Parry, Director of Programs Brenda Bogue, Director of Development Christina Rupp, Communications Manager Carrie Williams, Logistics and Planning Amanda Adams, Executive Operations Manager Mary Korman, Bookkeeper Jesse Dominguez, Chief Financial Officer
MISSION The mission of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is to advance our state economically and culturally by investing in a creative Texas. TCA supports a diverse and innovative arts community in Texas, throughout the nation and internationally by providing resources to enhance economic development, arts education, cultural tourism and artist sustainability initiatives. For more information about Texas Commission on the Arts, please visit https://www.arts.texas.gov/ STAFF Gary Gibbs, Ph.D., Executive Director Jim Bob McMillan, Deputy Director Laura Wiegand, Director of Programs & Technology Anina Moore, Director of Communications Amber West Rhodes, Director of Finance Freddy Martinez, Systems Administrator Ernest Luna, Program Administrator Derek Mudd, Ph.D., Program Administrator Kenneth Williams, Program Administrator Cynthia Gray, Program Assistant Mary Kettlewell, Program Assistant Jose Trevino, Program Assistant Dana Douglass Swann, Executive Assistant Katy Jennings, Finance Assistant
Special Thanks to the Event Planning Team: Rod Caspers, Director Paul Beutel, Producer Marnie Fitzgerald, Graphic Designer Aaron Weiss, Video Production Partner Annaliese Wiederspahn, Social Media Lauren Anderson, Principal Dancer, Houston Ballet (1983 – 2006), 2017 Texas Medal of Arts Honoree Ray Benson, Asleep at the Wheel, Texas Cultural Trust Board of Directors ZACH Theatre, www.zachtheatre.org
Please click to give. Join us in honoring our commitment to provide these incredible young artists with scholastic grants to further their artistic study. A gift of any amount will make a big impact. www.txculturaltrust.org/young-masters
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©TEXAS CULTURAL TRUST, 2020