Nicki Minaj, Vanessa Williams, Josh Groban, Kerry Washington and Tony-winner Raul Esparza have all been honored by the Young Arts Foundation. Now you can add the names of two Wilton High School students to that same list.
Caitlin Witty and Isabella Palacpac, WHS seniors, were recently recognized by the Young Arts Foundation, an organization that identifies and supports the next generation of artists in visual, literary, design and performing arts. Witty was recognized for musical theater and Palacpac was honored for cello.
As two of 700 recipients selected out of 11,000 applicants, the girls took part this week in programs in New York City, including master classes with renowned masters in their field, including Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris (Theater); best-selling author Joan Morgan (Writing), acclaimed painter José Parlá (Visual Arts), Visionaire co-founders James Kaliardos and Cecilia Dean (Design Arts) and actress and comedian Rachael Harris (Theater).
These young artists will also have the chance to showcase their talents for the public through two multidisciplinary performances at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC)—one program curated by Mikhail Baryshnikov (BAC Artistic Director) and Pedja Muzijevic (BAC Artistic Administrator), and another directed by Theatre and Opera Director Jay Scheib; a multidisciplinary performance at New York Live Arts directed by Wicked Concertmaster and Violin Soloist Christian Hebel; and an art, design & photography exhibition, writers’ readings, and film screenings at MoMA PS1.
“I’m incredibly excited to be part of YoungArts because it’s unlike any program I’ve ever been a part of before. YoungArts is not just centered on music or competition. Instead, it’s very interdisciplinary and is focused on finding the meaning behind all types of visual and performance arts,” Palacpac said.
Witty, her classmate, added, “I am extremely honored to have been selected as part of the YoungArts community. The opportunity to work with and be directed by world renowned artist Jay Scheib and learn from master artists such as Neil Patrick Harris and Johnathan Groff in a fluid and creative environment is invaluable and will enable me to further pursue my goal of truly affecting audiences in a deep and passionate way and hopefully change the way they view the world.”
Both girls will be heading to college in the fall–Witty will attend Webster Conservatory in St Louis and Palacpac is considering attending Julliard, where she’s been accepted.