As a development of our popular Arts4All Florida Young Soloists program, designed to identify and offer performance opportunities to talented young musicians throughout the state, we are pleased to announce our new Arts4All Florida Young Performers Program. This expanded program will increase our reach to recognize extraordinary performers, ages 14-24 in not only music, but also dance and theatre performance, that have a disability. Two emerging artists from each category will be selected by a panel of judges that are professionals in their specific field of performance.
All applicants will receive adjudication scores and personal written critiques that can be used to improve and refine their performance skills as they continue to develop. Winners of each category will be given the opportunity to perform at a professional venue that will be determined each year.
2020-2021 Winners have been selected. Please check back for information concerning the 2021-2022 program.
How to Apply
To read the complete call for applications, click here.
The link for each program application is below.
Music
Dance
Theater
2020-2021 Florida Young Soloist Winners
This year’s winners are 17-year-old Lawrence Carter from Pasco County and 22-year-old Sarah Redheffer from Marion County for their excellence in dance performance, 18-year-old Ian Hayden from Broward County and 20-year-old Hailey Buxton from Seminole County in the drama/theatre category and for the first time ever, we have selected three winners in the music category- 18-year-old Sarah Hardwig (vocals) from Collier County, 19-year-old Carson Monticello (vocals) from Nassau County, and 18-year-old Kevin Franco (drums) from Hillsborough County.
More about the winners:
Lawrence Carter fell in love with music and movement by the time he 
was seven years old. Following a brief summer camp introduction, he was enrolled in year-round classes in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical and musical theatre at Kelly’s Dance Academy in New Port Richey, Florida. By the time he was 10, Lawrence was dancing with a competitive team, giving him a chance to meet other male dancer role models who would inspire him to continue his intense training. Since age 11, Lawrence has increased his invested time to training 5-6 days per week and is an active member of the Universal Movement Competition Team and CBT Ballet Company at Mary Jo’s Performing Arts Academy. As a member of these organizations, Lawrence has competed in the Youth American Grand Prix ballet competitions of 2019 and 2020. To date, his repertoire with MJPAA includes Sleeping Beauty Ballet, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland and The Nutcracker. Most recently, Lawrence was accepted into the 2020 summer intensive program with Bolshoi Ballet Academy in N.Y.C., but unfortunately was unable to attend due to the pandemic. Lawrence lives to dance and dances to live; he plans to pursue a college degree in pursuit of a professional dance career.
Sarah Redheffer began her dance career at the age of six with the Marion Ballet Theatre. After graduating high school, she gravitated towards a contemporary movement exploration and pursued her BFA in Dance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. From 2018-2019, Sarah studied abroad in Israel at the Jerusalem Academy of music and dance which helped her evolve at the international level. Like so many budding artists during the past year, Sarah’s original plans were interrupted due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, she has completed her 200-Hour Vinyasa Yoga Certification and teaches dance at a small studio. Sarah states: “I think it is important to make small steps towards maintaining a creative practice.” Sarah describes her “professional aspirations are to work with a collaborative dance company and learn from other artists before moving…into making my own choreographic work and movement research.”
Hailey Buxton began participating in musical theatre performances in her freshman year at Seminole High School in Pinellas Park. With roles in High School Musical, Cinderella and the Wizard of Oz, she was equipped to begin working with the local community theatre, Theatre eXceptional, whose mission is to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma so often placed on disability and mental illness. Hailey, who has autism, has taken lead roles in Oliver, Bye, Bye Birdie and Our Town. Her competition samples were varied in style and character roles expressing her vocal and theatrical range. She aspires to attend St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida to continue her theatrical training.
Ian Hayden is a graduating senior of South Broward High School. He is an accomplished actor, despite having been born prematurely with 
underdeveloped lungs and diagnosed with autism at age four. He began his training in 2012 at the Art and Culture Center in Hollywood, Florida. His early roles there included Shrek in Shrek Junior, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast Junior, and as the Cat in Seussical. At the onset of high school, Ian joined the drama club performing in theatre events both on and off campus. Since then, his oeuvre includes dramatic and comedic monologues, duets as well as ensemble performances. In 2018, he was inducted into the International Thespian Society. Most recently he has been working on several independent online voice acting projects. Ian states: “I hope to be cast for large-scale productions in the future, not only to make a living off of it, but also to have as much fun as I can.”
Sarah Hardwig performed her first solo at her kindergarten graduation. Her music teacher identified her with perfect pitch and told her parents she had a future in music. Sarah attends Naples High School as a senior and sings with her school and church choirs.
She has performed the national anthem well over one hundred times, including at Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Orioles games. Sarah has been a member of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Choir for nine years and has been taking acoustic guitar lessons with a former Nashville songwriter. Sarah travels to Nashville annually for the Country Music Association Festival, and through dedicated networking has met top songwriters and musicians. She is associated with music publisher BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Sarah started writing her own songs a few years ago. She has recently been accepted in Belmont University’s Songwriting program. Sarah, who is blind, is known throughout southwest Florida for her talent, and her positive message is inspirational to many.
Carson Monticello gravitated to music and singing from a young age. 
She competed in her first talent show at eleven years performing "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. Although she did not win in that first competition, she remembers that “[it’s] not about winning, it's about being brave enough to get on stage and sing for other people.” Since then, Carson has participated in several school theatre performances including Legally Blonde Jr., the Musical and Check, Please. Our judges described Carson as having a developed stage presence with a voice filled with emotional content. Carson wishes to continue her training as she works
towards her goals of performing on Broadway and professional voice acting.
Kevin Franco was born in Puerto Rico and moved with his family to Florida at the age of eleven. Since he was a baby, he was drawn to 
making his own sounds and started by using kitchen accessories. Now at eighteen, he describes playing the drums as his passion. Kevin practices each day at home and performs at church on Sundays. He is also versed at playing bass, guitar, and piano sometimes spontaneously during jam sessions. Kevin is apt to learning new technologies for making music by experimenting on a mixer and other computer programs. This versatility in skill hints at Kevin’s future as an aspiring musician and producer. He states: “I want people to know and enjoy the talent that I have and the passion that I have in my life.”
2019-2020 Florida Young Soloist Winners
This year’s winners are 16-year-old Lawrence Carter from Pasco County and 14-year-old Jenna Terbrueggen from Duval County for their excellence in dance performance. 18-year-old Bailey Mienik and 19-year-old Hailey Buxton, both from Pinellas County were selected in the drama/theatre category. Both as vocal and instrumentalists, 19-year-old Mira Gaitanis from Leon County and 17-year-old Sarah Hardwig from Collier County are recognized for their outstanding musicianship.
More about the winners:
Lawrence Carter fell in love with music and movement by the time he was.jpg)
seven years old. Following a brief summer camp introduction, he was enrolled in year-round classes in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical and musical theatre at Kelly’s Dance Academy in New Port Richey, Florida. By the time he was 10, Lawrence was dancing with a competitive team, giving him a chance to meet other male dancer role models who would inspire him to continue his intense training. Since age 11, Lawrence has increased his invested time to training 5-6 days per week and is an active member of the Universal Movement Competition Team at Mary Jo’s Performing Arts Academy. To date his
repertoire includes the Sleeping Beauty Ballet, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland and The Nutcracker. He completed the Joffrey Ballet NYC Summer Intensive in 2018 and attended the Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive in 2019. He pursues college training in hopes of a professional career in dance.
Jenna Terbrueggen was born prematurely, yet literally grew up in a da
nce studio beginning lessons at the age of three, wanting to be like her older sisters. Flash forward eleven years and Jenna has become an accomplished dancer competing and winning awards and scholarships. She attends middle school at LaVilla School of the Arts and looks forward to continuing her education and training at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a Jacksonville magnet school that offers a broad arts curriculum. “My hope is to one day be a professional dancer in New York City; I feel as if dance lives inside me and when I am in a classroom or on a stage, I feel alive and want to share my joy for dance with others.” Jenna hopes to one day attend college and become an instructor to teach those who want to dance…especially boys and girls with a cognitive processing disability like herself.
Hailey Buxton began participating in musical theatre performances in her 
freshman year at Seminole High School in Pinellas Park. With roles in High School Musical, Cinderella and the Wizard of Oz, she felt equipped to begin working with the local community theatre, Theatre eXceptional, that producestwo professional quality shows each year to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma so often placed on disability and mental illness. Hailey, who has autism, has taken lead roles in Oliver, Bye, Bye Birdie and Our Town with the theatre and aspires to attend St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida to continue her theatrical training.
Bailey Mienik has had a passion for performing since the age of 3. 
Diagnosed at age six with Type 1 diabetes, she hasn’t let that stop her from doing what she loves. Currently, she plays piano, sings, acts, and writes. She is a Scholastic Art & Writing award winning playwright and novelist (Gold and Silver Keys) and is self-taught in all areas of the arts. Her heroes are Carole King and Jessie Mueller. Favorite past roles include Mrs. Edith Frank (The Diary of AnneFrank), Trix the Aviatrix (The Drowsy Chaperone), and Ensemble (Newsies). In the future, after achieving a musical theatre BFA with a minor in piano performance, Bailey hopes to perform on stage and off as a Broadway actress and musical director/accompanist. Her dream is to play Carole King in the Broadway revival of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She encourages those reading this to remember that “you’re beautiful as you feel!”
Mira Gaitanis plays both the violin and viola, 
starting lessons in first grade at Mason’s School of Music in Tallahassee. She learned through the Suzuki method playing songs by ear and through memorization, an accessible way to accommodate her low vision due to retinopathy of prematurity. With a firm grasp on her musical ability, Mira continued, learning to read music and participate in middle and high school ensembles as well as the Tallahassee Youth Orchestra and Symphonic Orchestra. More ensembles and group opportunities came, leading to an invitation to join a band that would later be known as Flat Moon Theory. Through a Kickstarter campaign she initiated, Mira raised enough money to record their debut album, Dreamer in the Dark, which was released on December 13, 2019 and can be found on most streaming sites. She writes, “These successes wouldn’t have been possible without the help from my eye doctors and music teachers; they were always thinking of new and innovative ways to make their programs more inclusive.” For example, Mira gives thanks to the instructor who brought clip-on lights to illuminate her music when on a dark stage and to her optometrist who helped devise a monocular mounted on a pair of glasses to read music from a distance, improving her posture when playing her instruments. “One day, I hope to gain a record deal with my fellow band-mates, and we could change the world together. Music has powers beyond our reckoning.”
Sarah Hardwig performed her first solo at her kindergarten graduation. Her 
music teacheridentified her with perfect pitch and told her parents she had a future in music. Sarah attends Naples High School as a sophomore and sings with her school and church choirs. She has been a member of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Choir for seven years and has been taking acoustic guitar lessons with a former Nashville songwriter for four. She has performed the national anthem well over one hundred times, including at Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Orioles games. Sarah travels to Nashville annually for the Country Music Association Festival, and through dedicated networking hasmet top songwriters and musicians. She has performed duets with Lauren Alaina and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and was selected by country singer Chris Young as one of three guest artists at his fan club party in Nashville. She is associated with music publisher BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. She participates in the Island Hopper Songwriter Festival in Fort Myers and has recently begun performing her original songs. Sarah, who is blind, is known throughout southwest Florida for her talent, and her positive message is inspirational to many.
2018-2019 Florida Young Soloist Winners
Sarah Hardwig had her first solo at her kindergarten graduation. Her music teacher identified her with perfect pitch and told her parents she had a future in music. Sarah attends Naples High School as a sophomore and sings with her school and church choirs. She has been a member of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Choir for seven years and has been taking acoustic guitar lessons with a former Nashville songwriter for four. She has performed the national anthem well over 100 times including the Miami Dolphins and the Baltimore Orioles games. Sarah annually travels to Nashville for the Country Music Association Festival and through dedicated networking has met top songwriters and music artists in that arena. She is a member of BMI
(Broadcast Music, Inc.) for publishing as well as the Nashville Songwriter Association International. Sarah participates in the Island Hopper Songwriter Festival in Fort Myers and has recently begun performing her original songs. Sarah, who is blind, is known throughout southwest Florida for her talent, and her positive message remains inspirational to many.
Joseph Etienne was born with Level IV autism and by the age of six he was markedly behind his peers verbally and academically. Joseph’s family noticed that music had a soothing effect on him; calming him as he listened attentively. After a live concert, later that same evening, he would hum or sing the music exactly as it was played. As a result, his family gave him a saxophone when he was eleven years old and he began his music career. In four short years Joseph has blossomed into a notable musician. Joseph strives to be a great musician and is dedicated to his craft. Joseph regularly participates in school and church performances and local events such as graduations, scholarship award ceremonies, and wedding receptions. He currently takes music classes at Autry Music Institute and plans to pursue a degree in music with the hopes of teaching and instilling the same passion he has for excellence in music in others. Today, Joseph is not only an accomplished musician, but is performing at college-level academics in school. Music has indeed transformed his life.
