CAA ANNOUNCES
2026 OVERTURE AWARD WINNERS
$53,000 Awarded for Excellence in the Arts
[CINCINNATI, OH] – The Cincinnati Arts Association is pleased to announce the winners of its Overture Awards Competition, held on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater, and the recipients of its Arts Educator Award for Excellence in Arts Instruction. The competition awarded $4,000 to six area students for education and training, $1,500 each to the eighteen runners-up, and $1,000 each to two Arts Educator Award recipients.
The Overture Awards recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12 and is the area’s largest solo arts competition. Students are nominated by their schools and/or private studios to compete in one of six disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. There are three levels of competition: Regional, Semi-Final, and Final.
The Arts Educator Award promotes and rewards excellence in arts instruction throughout Greater Cincinnati. An educator who teaches any of the following arts disciplines may be nominated: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Vocal Music. A nominee may be a high school arts specialist, teaching artist working with high school students, or an arts professional or educator providing private lessons or instruction. Students between the ages of 14-19 who are currently enrolled in high school submit nominations for their favorite educators.
The Overture Awards Regional Competitions were held virtually in January 2025. The top thirty percent of competitors in each discipline advanced to the Semi-Finals, which were held at the Aronoff Center from February 5-12.
Now in its thirtieth year, the Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a program of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber). The Overture Awards is funded and administered by the Cincinnati Arts Association and relies on hundreds of volunteers from the community who help raise funds, adjudicate, manage the competitions, and nurture the program.
2026 Overture Awards Winners
CREATIVE WRITING: Olivia Landry, grade 11, Villa Madonna Academy
HOMETOWN: Walton, KY – Olivia is an avid reader and writer with an intense passion for speculative fiction and dark fantasy. She’s been writing for seven years and recently won a gold key for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She dreams of being a full-time author and a New York Times bestseller.
DANCE: Nora Doyle, grade 11, School for Creative and Performing Arts / Studies with Just Off Broadway
HOMETOWN: Cleves, OH – Nora is a dance major in her 12th year attending the School for Creative and Performing Arts. She began her dance training at the age of 2.5, studying the many different genres of dance. Nora plans to continue her dance studies and her love for the arts for many years.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: Mario Agustín Ynga Orellana, grade 10, Walnut Hills High School / Studies with Dr. Laura Sabo
HOMETOWN: Amelia, OH – Mario grew up surrounded by music through his family traditions from Bolivia. Initially an accordionist, he discovered the clarinet, drawn to its elegance and expressive color. He is the principal clarinet of the OMEA All-State Band and a CSYO Norman E. Johns Chair awardee. Mario is also a committed mathematics enthusiast and a proud older brother of twins.
THEATER: Jai’Den Pritchett, grade 11, Sycamore High School / Studies with Musical Arts Center
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, OH – Jai’Den has always been passionate about theater. He was recently named a Winner with Distinction in the National YoungArts Competition for Musical Theatre. Jai’Den plans to get a BFA in Musical Theatre and thanks everyone who has supported his journey, especially his voice teacher, Karl Resnik, and his family.
VISUAL ART: Edie Anderson, grade 12, School for Creative and Performing Arts
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, OH – Edie has been telling stories through her art for her entire life. Her comics and illustrations have won numerous gold keys in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition, as well as a gold seal in the Cincinnati Public Schools’ citywide art show. Her dream is to write and illustrate graphic novels and share her stories with the world.
VOCAL MUSIC: William Wittekind, grade 12, Saint Xavier High School / Studies with Musical Arts Center
HOMETOWN: Cincinnati, OH – William has had a deep love of studying and performing classical music since the 7th grade. William recently placed first in the Matinee Musicale Competition. He was a finalist in the Overture Awards in 2025 and a semifinalist in 2024. William is excited to keep performing in his future!
2026 ARTS EDUCATOR AWARD RECEPIENTS
GIOVANNI FLORES
Private Instructor
Discipline: Instrumental Music
Nominated by: Quincy Whitfield
MICHAEL SHERMAN
High School Teacher
Discipline: Theater
Nominated by: Adelaide Linser
The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.
The Overture Awards are endowed by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.
Overture Scholarship Sponsors: Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.; Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; Punky’s Pixel’s; Summerfair Cincinnati; TriHealth
THANK YOU to the following generous supporters of the Overture Awards and Dancing for the Stars (CAA’s annual fundraiser which benefits the Overture Awards): Accent on Cincinnati, Ryan Anderson, Arthur Murray – Cincinnati, Arthur Murray – West Chester, Karla Boldery, James Branham, Bonita Brockert, Bill Chappie, Maura Garuccio, Erin Mignano, Dylan Morton, Jozsef Parragh, Stacy Sims, Josh Tilford, Alyenendrov Tsorokean, Chris O’Brien and Janeen Coyle (recently retired from “Married with Microphones.” 103.5 WGRR-FM), JD Hughes (DJ; on-air personality, 103.5 WGRR-FM)
Printing Sponsor: Harlan Graphics
THE 2026 OVERTURE AWARDS FINALISTS
Winner listed in blue
CREATIVE WRITING
- Lauren Ashelman, grade 12, Springboro High School
- Devi Kool, grade 11, Wyoming High School
- Olivia Landry, grade 11, Villa Madonna Academy
- Angela Tang, grade 11, William Mason High School
DANCE
- Brinkli Cox, grade 10, Homeschool/Studies with Hairston School of Dance
- Nora Doyle, grade 11, School for Creative and Performing Arts/Studies with Just Off Broadway
- Easton Gliebe, grade 11, Ohio Virtual Academy/Studies with Just Off Broadway
- Riley Neugebauer, grade 12, Turpin High School/Studies with Just Off Broadway
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
- Autumn Rinaldi, grade 11, Cincinnati Country Day School/Studies with Dr. Sarah Kim
- Sophia Suwiryo, grade 11, Summit Country Day School/Studies with Professor Alvin Chow
- Mario Agustín Ynga Orellana, grade 10, Walnut Hills High School/Studies with Dr. Laura Sabo
- Grace Yu, grade 12, Indian Hill High School/Studies with Joyce Grabell
THEATER
- Maeve Bachman, grade 12, Sycamore High School/Studies with Andrea Davies
- Avery Fox, grade 12, Homeschool/Northern Kentucky University/Studies with Xan Jeffery
- Elliot Martin, grade 11, Highlands High School
- Jai’Den Pritchett, grade 11, Sycamore High School/Studies with Musical Arts Center
VISUAL ART
- Edie Anderson, grade 12, School for Creative and Performing Arts
- Jinming Gu, grade 11, Indian Hill High School/Studies with Yinyan Studio
- Riley Judd, grade 12, School for Creative and Performing Arts
- Ronan Wolfer, grade 12, Loveland High School
VOCAL MUSIC
- Genevieve Howard, grade 12, Newport Central Catholic High School/Studies with Talia Zoll Studio of Music
- Ray Muenzer, grade 12, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy/Studies with Musical Arts Center
- Sahana Siddharth, grade 10, Seven Hills School/Studies with Allison Highland
- William Wittekind, grade 12, Saint Xavier High School/Studies with Musical Arts Center
Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of two of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 700,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than 2.1 million students and adults.
CAA is proud to be a member of Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Greater Cincinnati Alliance for Arts Education, Visit Cincinnati (formerly Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau), Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce.
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