2013 Overture Awards Finals Competition Will Take Place 3/2 at Aronoff Center

The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) will present the 2013 Overture Awards Scholarship Competition - the largest locally-run arts scholarship competition in the country. The Overture Awards annually provides a $3,000 scholarship to six area high school students for education and training expenses, with 18 finalists each winning a $500 scholarship.

The Overture Awards Finals Competition and Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 1:00 PM at the Aronoff Center's Jarson-Kaplan Theater. Winners will be announced immediately following the competition.

This year, 426 students were nominated by their schools to compete in one of six artistic disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. The Overture Awards was developed to recognize, encourage, and reward excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12. It also provides students an opportunity to share their talents and interests among their peers in a supportive environment outside of their individual schools. There are three levels of competition: Regionals, Semi-Finals, and Finals.

The Overture Awards Regional Competitions were held on January 12 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Immanuel United Methodist Church (Lakeside Park, KY), Saint Ursula Academy, University of Cincinnati - Blue Ash College, and Xavier University. The top 20 percent of competitors in each discipline advanced to the Semi-Finals, which were held at the Aronoff Center on January 18 and 19. Twenty-four finalists (four in each discipline) will compete in the Finals Competition at the Aronoff Center's Jarson-Kaplan Theater on March 2.

Now in its 17th year, The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a program of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce). The Overture Awards is funded and administered by the Cincinnati Arts Association, which operates and manages the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. The Overture Awards also relies on hundreds of volunteers from the community who help raise funds, adjudicate and manage the competitions, and nurture the program.

Overture Awards Program Sponsors: Carey Digital; Citi; The Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee. Scholarship Sponsors: Doreen Beatrice; Bonita Brockert; Cincinnati Ballroom; Dare to Dance; Pebble Creek Group; The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; Step n Out Studio; Stock Yards Bank & Trust; Summerfair Cincinnati; Western & Southern Financial; The William O. Purdy, Jr. Foundation. Competition Sponsors: Buddy Roger's Music, Immanuel United Methodist Church (Lakeside Park, KY), St. Ursula Academy, University of Cincinnati - Blue Ash College, Xavier University.