DOWNTOWN : 120 From Area Seek Arts Scholarships

A record number of high school students, including more than 120 from the central Los Angeles area, have applied for the Music Center’s fifth annual Spotlight Awards, a performing arts contest that awards $45,000 in scholarships.

Nearly 600 students from public and private high schools throughout Southern California--a 50% increase from last year--will compete for six $5,000 scholarships and six $2,500 scholarships through auditions and master classes that also teach students the rigors of the performing arts field, Music Center spokeswoman Alison Cotter said.

Auditions in ballet, modern dance, opera, pop vocal, and classical and jazz instrumental music will take place through Dec. 18. Ten or more semifinalists in each category will be chosen to participate in master classes with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera and other performing arts groups.

At the end of the master classes, another audition will choose two performers per category to participate in a final April 8 performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. A celebrity panel will judge the performances. Winners will receive $5,000, and runners-up will get $2,500.

The Spotlight Awards are presented by the Music Center’s Fraternity of Friends and is sponsored by Pacific Telesis Foundation.