Artist of the Year 2026 for vocal music: Lexie Shehab – Orange County Register - California News Beep

Genuine.

Beautiful phrasing.

A lot of joy.

All were descriptions applied to Lexie Shehab and her performance of two songs, accompanied by a pianist.

She started with Sarah Vaughan’s swinging take on Leonard Bernstein’s “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story.” Next up, Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life.”

While she grew up mostly enjoying and vocalizing soul songs, Shehab told the judges she chose to perform these two pieces to demonstrate her commitment to a different musical genre: jazz.

Lexie Shehab of Newport Beach, a junior at the Orange...

Lexie Shehab of Newport Beach, a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts, is the 2026 Artist of the Year for the Pacific Chorale Award for Vocal Music, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Oh, she still sings soul and pop, Shehab, 17, said, but added that “I love jazz for its complexity and how it challenges me.”

Shehab not only rose to the challenge but soared to the top, winning the Artist of the Year program’s Pacific Chorale Award for Vocal Music.

“Your voice and phrasing are just terrific,” Ruth Mason, director of ticket services at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, told Shehab.

Or, as Mason, a jazz enthusiast, said to the other judges in words befitting the genre, “That chick does jazz.”

There was something else the judges took note of too, something that had nothing to do with Shehab’s singing.

“She was the only one to shout out her accompanist,” said MJ Salanga, an Artist of the Year instrumental music semifinalist in 2021 who now works as a copywriter at Segerstrom.

Shehab’s professionalism has been long in the making.

She began vocal lessons at the age of 3: “It had started out as me tagging along on my sister’s music lessons, and after I begged for some of my own, I started on my music journey.”

She fell in love with jazz once she started middle school at Orange County School of the Arts, gravitating toward the students studying and performing jazz music.

“These unexpected friendships ended up changing my perspective on my future and convinced me to start pursuing the wonderful world of jazz,” Shehab wrote in her nominee statement.

“Being introduced to jazz was one of the best things to happen to me, as I had finally found the musical niche I had been looking for and had felt more passionate than I had ever felt about music.”

She was the only performer among the 16 semifinalists to specialize in jazz vocals.

Shehab, a junior, has another year to go at OCSA. She plans to attend a music conservatory after she graduates high school.

And her favorite jazz artist of all time? A true original: Lillie Mae Jones, otherwise known as Betty Carter — a virtuoso of improvisation.

“I love how many risks she takes.”

Vocal music finalists

In addition to Artist of the Year, the judges also selected three finalists from the 16 vocalists who showcased classical, opera, musical theater, pop, soul, and jazz singing.

Isabel Calvo of Orange, a senior studying under private instructor...

Isabel Calvo of Orange, a senior studying under private instructor Melissa Lyons Caldretti, is a 2026 Artist of the Year finalist for the Pacific Chorale Award for Vocal Music, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Isabel Calvo: This 18-year-old sure has been busy the past three years. In addition to performing in multiple theatrical productions for Fullerton Union High and Messiah Fine Arts Ministry, Calvo served on technical crews doing costumes, hair and makeup. She also participated in the UCLA Summer Vocal Intensive and the Talon Academy of Performing Arts. Oh, and she was an Artist of the Year semifinalist for theater in 2025.

Measuring her growth as an artist, she declared that this year was just going to be fun: “I don’t have anything to prove but I have a lot to share.” She showcased her classical, operatic talents and reached back to perform a piece from Mozart’s 19th century “Der Schauspieldirektor” and then something more recent from the 2005 Tony Award winning “Light in the Piazza.” She achieved “beautiful storytelling” in both pieces, said judge Sarah-Nicole Carter, a mezzo-soprano and voice teacher who performs with and serves as operations manager for Lyric Opera of Orange County.

Calvo plans a double major for college, in classical voice and psychology. Someday she’d like to be a musical therapist, working with children who are neurodivergent.

Libby Rue of Ladera Ranch, a junior at Santa Margarita...

Libby Rue of Ladera Ranch, a junior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, is a 2026 Artist of the Year finalist for the Pacific Chorale Award for Vocal Music, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Libby Rue: She describes traveling to New York City for the first time when she was 8 and attending a performance of “Matilda the Musical.” Rue walked away with the message that “even if you are little you can do a lot.” Bolt of lightning, she said. “I knew this is what I was meant to do.” She told her mom as much as they left the theater, forecasting how six months later she would land the part of Matilda at a small children’s theater near home.

Rue also has demonstrated her can-do quality by creating the You Are Enough Cabaret series for other teens to share and celebrate their art in a supportive environment. It’s not about competition, she said, but connection. Held quarterly in Laguna Beach, the cabaret series has featured more than 30 invited performers from over a dozen high schools. Rue, 17, informed the judges that she was in the midst of organizing the seventh such cabaret, with a pop rock theme, for May.

A junior at Santa Margarita Catholic High, Rue plans to partner with other high schools as she continues the cabaret series.

Rebecca Lilliana Vu of Orange, a senior at Santa Ana...

Rebecca Lilliana Vu of Orange, a senior at Santa Ana High School, is a 2026 Artist of the Year finalist for the Pacific Chorale Award for Vocal Music, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Rebecca Lilliana Vu: In third grade, Vu sang for her classmates during recess. She already knew she wanted to be a performer. One of her teachers witnessed a playground performance and told Vu she’d blossom into a wonderful singer.

She joined the Santa Ana High girls choir as a freshman, but struggled initially. “I wasn’t that good, to be honest.” Extra work with the school pianist paid off. Vu also joined the school’s chamber singers and jazz choir. A mezzo soprano, her specialty is classical and art songs. In 2025, schoolmates and teachers encouraged Vu to audition for Cal State Fullerton’s quartet festival master class, open to three girls and three boys. She was selected. At the end of the master class, she received another honor as one of three soloists chosen from the group to perform at the CSUF Quartet Festival. “This was my biggest changing point,” Vu, 17, wrote in her Artist of the Year nominee statement, “and gave me hope that I will succeed in life.”

CSUF will play another big role in her future: She told the judges she had just been accepted for vocal performance.

The Pacific Chorale Award for Vocal Music

This vocal music award is sponsored by the Pacific Chorale.

The Artist of the Year receives $500 and two framed awards — one to take home, and one to hang at school. Finalists receive $100.

In addition, Pacific Chorale is providing:

A private coaching session with a Pacific Chorale member for the top four students
Complimentary tickets to Pacific Chorale concerts for all 16 semifinalists
A scholarship to attend the Pacific Chorale summer camp for all 121 nominees

The judges

Special thanks to the judges who helped evaluate students this year.

The judges who evaluated the 220 theater nominees and chose the 16 semifinalists were:

Melissa Lyons Caldretti, private voice theacher
Jill DeWeese, Buena Park High School
Aaron Duncan-Schwartz, Suny Hills High School
Robyn Frey-Monell, Rosary Academy
Chris Gomez, Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Molly Gooch, Brea Olinda High School
Heide Janssen, Executive Producer, Artist of the Year
Jennifer Kheriaty, JSerra Catholic High School
Milena Kitic, MK Vocal Studio
Adela Kwan, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
Laura Lodin, Beckman High School
Marlon Santizo, El Dorado High School
Madeline Yakell, Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts

The judges who interviewed the semifinalists and chose the three finalists and the Artist of the Year were:

Ryan Brown, Dir. of Choral Activities, Chapman University
Sarah-Nicole Carter, Mezzo-soprano, Lyric Opera OC
Rhett M. Del Campo, President and CEO, Pacific Chorale
Scott Hedgecock, Board Member, National Assoc. for Music Education
Heide Janssen, Executive Producer, Artist of the Year
Ruth Mason, Ticket Services, Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Anne McNiff-Gaeta, Ticket Services, Segerstrom Center for the Arts
MJ Salanga, Copywriter, Segerstrom Center for the Arts (2021 Artist of the Year semifinalist)
Jennifer Siglin, Marketing, Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Artist of the Year 2026 for vocal music: Lexie Shehab – Orange County Register

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