St. Margaret’s had four Upper School students named semifinalists in the annual Orange County Artist of the Year program, which recognizes accomplished and promising young artists across the county.

 

The four are among 108 semifinalists across seven disciplines—theater, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, film and TV, fine arts, and media arts. There were a total of 888 nominees, and semifinalists were selected by a panel of arts educators who reviewed applications, performance videos, portfolios, film samples and artistic resumes.

 

The semifinal round involves students begin interviewed by panels of distinguished arts professionals and faculty from Southern Calfiornia colleges. The finalists and Artist of the Year winners will announced live at an awards celebration on May 13 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.

 

Congratulations to the four Tartan semifinalists!

 

Richard Feng (piano) is one of 16 students selected as a semifinalist for the 2026 Pacific Symphony Award for Instrumental Music, out of a pool of 130 nominees.

 

Gavin Shams (lighting design) is one of 16 students named semifinalist in theater, out of 220 total nominees.

 

April Ma is one of 15 semifinalists in the Fine Arts category, out of a total of 164 nominees.

 

Mac Ullem was one of 16 students named semifinalists in film and TV, out of 67 total nominees.

 

You can view all the nominees at the Orange County Register or on Culture OC.