By Evelyn Taylor
A rigorous week of collaboration, including master classes with professional composers, performers and visual artists, saw young creative minds from across the country converge and combine; culminating in stunning performances for all to enjoy.
The YoungArts Los Angeles program is part of the National YoungArts Foundation, with the regional group including winners from local schools whose talents dazzled the eyes and ears of the Westside community with various performances and exhibitions.
The National YoungArts Foundation is focused on identifying and supporting talented young artists through an application-based award system, recently partnering with the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, to present the fifth YoungArts Los Angeles, during the week of March 27.
Crossroads students Xavier Carr, Isaac Pross, Alec Schulman, Noah Simon and Ethan Treiman were among the 70 YoungArts winners participating in the event that was open to the public throughout the week.
Not only did YoungArts L.A. present visual art exhibitions and musical performances, but composition readings and multidisciplinary performances were also a part of the mix.
Carr, who contributed Design Art to the visual arts exhibition, said he is able to fully utilize his imagination through his work because drawings are not always bound by real world limitations. The Crossroads’ student said he felt a strong sense of community throughout the program, despite the many different types of artwork being highlighted.
“My roommate for the week was Isaac Pross, who is a local classical composer,” Carr said. “During the week we bonded, and we ended up having great conversations about the latest performances that we had just witnessed, the similarities and overlap between Design Art and Classical Composing, or even just about how each of our days went.”
Pross, who aspires to continue his career in classical composition, is also a Crossroads student and said YoungArts L.A. transformed the way in which he thinks about music and art.
“I was surprised by how supportive the teachers at YoungArts were towards everyone’s individual goals,” Pross said. “Within classical music, I was expecting more conservative mindsets, but some students wanted to play pop music, some students wanted to compose for film and musicals and some students didn’t necessarily want to become professional musicians.”
In addition to peer collaboration, the students participated in classes and workshops with skilled professionals such as Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist Vijay Gupta, and award-winning independent filmmakers Nancy Savoca and Rich Guay. The teens also attended various studio visits and took part in collaborative projects around the Los Angeles area to develop their artistic abilities.
“I’m local to Los Angeles, and it was very fun to see members of the group take in the sights and sounds of a place that they had never been before,” Carr said. “During our visits, we received very valuable, honest information about the process of showing in galleries, artist residencies, and the finances of living as an artist.”
Jazz keyboard player and Crossroads student Alec Schulman worked with jazz musician Alan Pascua and Dr. Ron McCurdy, who directed the jazz performances. Schulamn said the most meaningful element of YoungArts L.A. was the focus on interdisciplinary arts and creating a story through artwork.
“Our performance was with spoken word performers and writers, and they read poems, and we played a tune,” Schulman said. “We were kind of figuring out what textures best fitted with the writers’ poems, and it was a really interesting dynamic.”
The performances and exhibitions were held at UCLA and Building Bridges Art Exchange in Santa Monica, attracting large crowds of people from all disciplines, parents and visitors.
For more information, head to youngarts.org/YoungArts-Los-Angeles.
