Iliff a finalist for National YoungArts award

Callie Iliff is a senior at Wimberley High School and will have an exciting 2019, and not just graduating from high school. She starts the New Year by traveling to Miami, Florida after being named a National YoungArts Finalist for Classical Voice. She is the only Mezzo-Soprano.

She is one of the top ten percent of applicants that were received, all hoping to be a finalist. She applied in October of this year urged by her voice teacher. She had to submit four videos for consideration. They would call at school if you were named a finalist.

“I was outside by the tennis courts. They said on the phone that ‘you are a finalist in this ginormous competition.’ I squealed in the phone,” Iliff said. As a finalist she will be flown to Miami with hotel, flight, food all provided for free. She will be attending master classes with some of the top performers in their field while there.

“It takes place January 6 through 13. Every day I have something going on. A performance on the 7th, which will be live streamed on their website (is the most important) … and I’ll attend a gala ball.”

“The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to identify and nurture the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts, and assist them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development,” according to their press release.

Iliff has been trained in classical voice since 2013. She’s won awards such as second place in the 2018 Hal Leonard Awards for classical high school voice. She is a three times winner as a Texas All State Choir member and has numerous awards for her voice. She’s also been in operas at Texas State University.

She is also a thespian, appearing on the high school plays and Summer Shakespeare, the EmilyAnn Theatre and also with the Wimberley Players. She is also a band member, both Marching and Concert. To top it off, she was also elected Homecoming Queen this year.

Plans for the future include more voice education. She has applied to the top voice institutions in the U.S. but nothing will be finalized until she auditions for schools like Julliard and the Peabody Institute this spring. Becoming a finalist at YoungArts will be a big plus.

“I just want to perform,” said Iliff.