Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council Honors YEA! Award Winners

PLEASANTON, CA — The Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council presented its 29th annual Youth Excellence in Arts Awards on March 22, celebrating outstanding student achievement in literary, music, and visual arts.

“The YEA! Awards celebrate not only artistic talent, but the dedication and passion of our youth,” said PCAC leadership. “We are proud to support and recognize these exceptional students who represent the future of the arts in our community,” PCAC leadership said in a statement.

The following students received awards in different categories. Awardees are listed from first to Honorable Mention.

Literary Arts:

1. Yujin Shin
2. Seah Kim
3. Jayden Hyun
4. Suhana Verma

Music:

1. Celicia Thendean (piano)
2. Aaron Jung (flute)
3. Janet Chan (violin)
4. Yujin Shin (violin)

Visual Arts:

1. Jeffrey Liu
2. Dana Yang
3. Marie Chen
4. Nirnaya Botlagunta, Meera Joshi, Chloe Im, Ananya Bare

Four musicians received the Don Lewis "Say YES to Music!" Grants, which honor the legacy of longtime Pleasanton musician and Rotarian Don Lewis, and encourage youth pursuing music education:

• Meghna Yamarthy (violin)
• Xinqi "Emily" Wang (piano)
• Yufei Shen (viola)
• Celicia Thendean (piano)

For more information, visit pleasantonarts.org.