CONTACT: Margo Minecki, Office: 562-922-6360; Cell: 562-500-5184
L.A. County High School for the Arts to Unveil New $31 Million Facility May 18 Event to Mark Milestone in Public Arts Education
Los Angeles, CA -- It’s the training ground for L.A.’s most promising young talent and the alma mater of the likes of recording artist Josh Groban and actor Corbin Bleu. But since its launch in 1985, the L.A. County High School for the Arts has never really had a home of its own, being fully integrated on the campus of Cal State L.A.
Now, thanks to the allocation of state bond funding, the region’s premier public arts high school finally has its own building with 21 classrooms, “black box” theatre and outdoor stage area. It’s the realization of a long-held dream and a boon to the school community, providing space for instruction, technical training, rehearsals and performances.
WHAT: A grand opening ceremony for a new facility for the L.A. County High School for the Arts, a tuition-free public school that combines college-preparatory instruction with conservatory-style training in the visual and performing arts. LACHSA enrolls 600 diverse students from across the region who are selected through a competitive process of juried auditions or portfolio reviews.
WHO: County Supervisors Michael Antonovich and Gloria Molina and State Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez are scheduled to join with officials from the Office of Education and Cal State L.A. for the ceremony. They will launch and celebrate a new era for arts education along with hundreds of students, parents, faculty and alumni.
WHEN: Saturday, May 18, 2013 — 12:30 p.m.
Ceremony being held as part of “LACHSALive!,” an all-day festival featuring students, alumni and faculty in 70 performances, art exhibits, film screenings and workshops. The festival culminates with a private performance by Grammy-winning band Ozomatli, featuring LACHSA alum Uli Bella.
View the LACHSALive! schedule and get information at: http://www.lachsalive.com
WHERE: Cal State L.A., 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles 90023 (Parking in Lot 5; see map at http://lachsalive.com/vip.html)
VISUALS: A joyful, colorful celebration of a landmark day for arts education. The area’s top teen talent in the visual and performing arts will be on display.
# # #
Working for Californiaa since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 225,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu