Orange County Music and Dance Joins Partnership for ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS

OC Music & Dance (OCMD) announced today a new partnership with The Orange County Register and the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) to expand and enhance the Artist of the Year competition for area high school visual and performing arts students. The competition, established by The Register and running since 2013, showcases Orange County's most talented youth.

"Lending our time, talents and resources to an invaluable program such as Artist of the Year is at the heart of our mission in supporting Orange County's most dedicated and talented youth," said Doug Freeman, CEO of OCMD. "We are understandably very excited and proud to partner with The OC Register and OC Department of Education in exploring new opportunities and potential for this competition."

The fifth annual Artist of the Year competition will, for the first time, include a concert at which the winners will have the opportunity to be recognized and to perform or display their award-winning talents. In addition, the event, dubbed "From Classical to Rock," will feature performances by renowned professional artists and student musicians, and will be emceed by bassist, singer and "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson. The concert and presentation takes place April 28, 2018 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Under the partnership, the competition will be co-presented by the OC Register, OCMD and the OCDE, and will continue to be overseen and produced by its creator, former Varsity Arts editor Heide Janssen. Nominees will be evaluated by a panel of arts educators and professionals. Winners will receive a certificate as well as a cash award and their teachers will receive, for their respective schools, a cash award to help support their programs.

Orange County Music and Dance is a non-profit community performing arts school offering classes and workshops across a variety of interests that nurture, inspire and empower students of all ages and skill levels. All of this is provided, regardless of the family's ability to pay. The 21,000 square foot facility in Irvine offers eight music rooms, three large dance studios, classrooms, a fully equipped recording studio, an in-house café, and a 150-seat black box theater.