celebrating A Decade of YAA
It is hard to believe it has been ten years since brothers Rolando and Kristofer Sanz started Young Artists of America (YAA), which has grown from its first, small concert in Strathmore’s lobby to become an award-winning performing arts organization that delivers transformative, innovative, and inclusive arts programming to our community.
This 10th anniversary season calls for celebration, and so we are hosting a series of in-person events and online commemorations to mark the occasion. We invite you to join us in any and all of these celebrations!
Learn more below.
UPCOMING EVENTS
We’ll be celebrating the past 10 years all season long, and we hope you’ll join us!
Reunion Weekend
MAY 21-22, 2022
We can’t wait to celebrate with our decade of alumni! Check out all that we have planned the weekend and RSVP now!
YAAjunior Presents Cinderella: Youth Edition
AMP by Strathmore
Saturday, May 14, 2022
PAST EVENTS
10th Anniversary Performance & Celebration
The Music Center at Strathmore
Sunday, April 3, 2022, 4pm
Performance of Elton John & Tim Rice’s AIDA
Hosted by Ed Grossman & Rochelle Stanfield
and Ollen & Julia Douglass
Featuring 140+ young performers from YAAOrchestra, YAACompany, and YAAjunior in in Strathmore’s 2,000-seat Concert Hall
Free Post-Performance Reception in the Lockheed Martin Lobby, for adults and children to feature entertainment & a silent auction
Pre-Performance VIP Reception in the Comcast Circles Lounge
Presentation of Mentorship Award to Carol Trawick of The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation
A LETTER FROM OUR FOUNDERS
Friends,
Who could have guessed 10 years ago that an idea, hatched between two brothers over Thanksgiving dinner, would blossom into one of the region’s most respected performing arts organizations?
We wanted to give back to the community by inspiring a new generation of musical theatre performers, collaborative artists, and audiences. So we leveraged our complementary passions as a professional singer (Rolando) and a conductor (Kris) to present a concert in May 2011, with a few of our most talented students and local professional artists. Strathmore agreed to host us in their lobby for the performance. We rented folding chairs and printed programs on a copy machine.
From that first downbeat, there was magic. And from that concert, Young Artists of America (YAA) was born.
Since then, we have gathered a team of gifted staff and teaching artists who share YAA’s vision of reimagining the landscape of arts education. Today, YAA has grown to serve 500+ diverse students and an audience of 5,000+ each year!
We think this growth is a testament to our program’s unique attributes, including our…
large scale performances featuring up to 350 student performers
our full symphonic orchestra featured as the centerpiece of our mainstage productions
master teachers and professional mentors from Broadway and beyond (like, Alan Menken, Steven Schwartz, Jason Robert Brown)
state of the art performance venues (Music Center at Strathmore, The Kennedy Center), Maryland Public Television)
creative repertoire that challenges non-dominant norms
collaborations with like-minded performing arts organizations featuring students from under-resouced communities
focus on student diversity and access through in-school recruitment and scholarships
free community performances
After having not only survived but thrived during the pandemic, we invite you to join us as we return to the stage for our Tenth Anniversary Season. We will be celebrating the art we’ve created over the years, but we will also be celebrating you— our “YAA Family” of students, families, donors, board, volunteers, and the many alumni who have come back to support our work.
We believe programs like YAA— that create brave spaces for students to express themselves— are more necessary now than even 10 years ago when we embarked on this adventure. As we imagine the next 10 years, we hope you will continue to join us as we help students find their voice in today’s challenging world!
Always,
Rolando and Kristofer Sanz
Co-Founders, Young Artists of America
MAJOR MILESTONES
March 2011 - YAA officially incorporates as a 501(c)3, non-profit organization
May 2011 - Inaugural Concert at Strathmore (featuring YAAOrchestra & YAAOrchestra)
Spring 2012 - First fully-staged production: The Phantom of the Opera
June 2012 - First Summer Performing Arts Intensives Day Camp
Spring 2013 - First Production in Concert Hall at the Music Center at Strathmore: Madama Butterfly & Miss Saigon
Spring 2014 - Collaboration with Jason Robert Brown: Songs for a New World
Fall 2014 - YAA is invited to become Strathmore’s first Affiliate organization
Summer 2015 - First Summer Performing Arts Intensives Overnight Camp
Fall 2016 - Launch of YAAjunior (middle school training program)
Spring 2016 - Collaboration with Stephen Schwartz: Children of Eden
Fall 2017 - Launch of YAAStudio (musical theatre education program)
Spring 2017 - Collaboration with Tim Rice and Adam Pascal: Circle of Life: The Songs of Tim Rice
Summer 2017 - Maryland Public Television Special:
Young Artists of America: The Songs of Tim Rice
Winter 2017 - First Performance at The Kennedy Center
Summer 2017 - First Performance Washington Nationals Stadium
Spring 2018 - Won Regional Emmy Award with MPT for
Young Artists of America: The Songs of Tim Rice
Spring 2019 - Performance with Kristin Chenoweth at Strathmore
March 2020 - Pivot to Virtual Programming
Spring 2020 - Collaboration with Alan Menken: Beauty and the Beast
Summer 2020 - First YAA digital productions: Summer Performing Arts Intensives
August 2020 - BIPOC Scholarship Fund announced
September 2020 - Launch of YAAClassical: Voice (training program for emerging classical vocalists)
March 2021 - First YAA site-specific production recorded virtually and filmed outdoors on location: Into the Woods
November 2021 - After the onset of the pandemic, a return to the stage with Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat for our performance ensembles.
January 2021 - Announce the expansion of YAA’s award-winning Summer Performing Arts Intensive to three new campuses around Maryland and new programming for more ages and areas of study.
From the YAA Vault
Explore never-before-seen footage and fan favorite clips from 10 years of artistry, excellence and mentorship from YAA.
We’ll post a new video here and on social regularly so check back soon and be sure to follow us!
Inaugural Concert at Strathmore (2011)
The Phantom of the Opera (2012)
Martyrs (2012)
Madame Butterfly & Miss Saigon (2013)
West Side Story / Romeo et Juliette (2015)
Jekkyl and Hyde (2016)
This video will go live March 22!
The Wizard of Oz in Concert (2016)
Children of Eden (2016)
This video will go live March 28!
Sound of Music in Concert (2017)
The Circle of Life (2017)
This video will go live April 2!
The Lion King, Jr. - YAAjunior (2017)
National Anthem at Nats Park (2018)
Annie Get Your Gun (2018)
HOST & SPONSORS
CO-HOSTS
Ed Grossman & Rochelle Stanfield
Ollen & Julia Douglass
CORPORATE SPONSORS
Edelman Financial Engines
Parent with Care
Shorb Fafoglia Group of Compass — Ellie Shorb, Realtor
Village Settlements, Inc.
INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
Anonymous
Richard Gervase & Stuart Delery
Randee, David & Rachel Hahn
Susan & Arnie Lutzker
Alan J. Savada & Will Stevenson
Meredith & Lance Wade
Miriam Teitel Zarin & Jason Zarin
HOST COMMITTEE COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Xi Sigma Omega Chapter
Montgomery County Family Justice Center Foundation
HOST COMMITTEE
Jayani & Kande Amarasinghe
Paul Amoruso
Lauren Aronson
Karen Baratz
Sharon Beck
Seth Berlin & Susan Mayer
Jennifer Boudrye
Jennifer Buzzell
Anne Coffey
Francisco Cosio-Marron
Rob Darnell & Christine Greenlees
Joseph & Anita DeMino
Susan Donnelly
Beth Elliott
Aketa Emptage
Randee Feinbaum Hahn
Jordan & PJ Feinstein
Claudia P. Fennell
Jamillia Ferris & Josh Harrison
Kari Fisher
Richard Gervase & Stuart Delery
Mona Leigh Guha & Joseph King
John & Meg Hauge
Judy Herrmann & Mike Starke
Jill Herzog
Joanna Hughes
Kristina Ivanova
Sarah Jackson-Hahn
Ashyia Johnson
Delia Medina
Lori Ann Ayanian Madhok
Gina DiMedio Marrazza
Patrick & Elaine McCarthy
Hunt Mitchell
Jessica Nesterak & Scott Berhang
Matthew Reeser
Monika Vasey Rhodes
Brian Roach
Karen Schupak
Gina Tesauro
Meredith & Lance Wade
Ellie Whims
Miriam Teitel Zarin & Jason Zarin
Kelly & James Zoller
Xue Zhao
SPONSOR OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Consider joining us as a sponsor of our 10th Anniversary Celebration at AIDA on April 3 at the Music Center at Strathmore. Your support at any level will help YAA create a safe space, over the next decade, for students to express themselves and find their voice in an ever more challenging world! Contact Executive Director Lisa Larragoite at lisa@yaa.org for more information.
CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL SPONSORSHIP: LEVELS AND BENEFITS
BRONZE $500* (Individual Only):
Name listed in performance/event program*
Name on Event Banners in Strathmore lobby
Acknowledgment on YAA social media
Two Tickets to performance and pre/post events
SILVER $1,000:
Name and logo listed in performance/event program*
Name/Logo on Event Banners in Strathmore lobby
Acknowledgment on YAA social media
Half page ad performance program*
Four Tickets to performance and pre/post events
GOLD $2,500:
Name and logo listed in performance/event program*
Name/Logo on Event Banners in Strathmore lobby
Acknowledgment on YAA social media
Full page ad in performance program*
Backstage Tour
Six Tickets to performance and pre/post events
PLATINUM $5,000:
Name and logo listed in performance/event program*
Name/Logo on Event Banners in Strathmore lobby
Acknowledgment on YAA social media
Full page ad in performance program*
Backstage Tour
Sponsor thanked aloud at VIP Reception and Post-Performance Party
Eight Tickets, to performance and pre/post events, including performance Box Seats
*We plan for there to be a printed program. However, depending on current theatre Covid restrictions, the program may have to be digital and viewed online via QR code.
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