TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – FSU student organization Amplify 850 visited WCTV studios Tuesday morning to share more about what they do.
It started as an idea about closing a gap that always bothered its founder, Vince Nucatola: the divide between Florida State University and the Leon County schools that raised so many of the students now walking FSU’s campus, himself included.
What began as one person’s vision for bringing those two worlds together has grown into a full team of Tallahassee-raised FSU students working to align the university and the county around the challenges their students share, and to rally the whole capital city to solve them together, year after year.
This fall, that vision takes shape through a season of free events built to connect college mentors directly with the next generation of performers and creators.
It starts October 2 with a Dance Leadership Masterclass from 4 to 6 PM in Moore Auditorium, bringing in guest speakers with real world insight into a career in dance.
On November 7, the Chorus Leadership Masterclass runs from 10 AM to noon, held in partnership with the American Choral Directors Association.
December 5 doubles up, with an Acting Leadership Masterclass from noon to 2 PM followed that evening by a Student Submission Film Festival from 6 to 10 PM, giving young filmmakers their first real audience.
Everything builds toward the Fine Arts and Music Conference on Saturday, February 6, 2027, at FSU’s Oglesby Student Union, the moment the whole season has been pointing to. It’s free to attend as a spectator, with performers able to compete for as little as $5 in general grading or step up to a $10 advanced adjudication track evaluated by graduate students. Four disciplines, art, acting, choral performance and dance, will each get their own dedicated space across the Union that day.
The structure behind it all is something built to last beyond any one class or any one year. High school chapters across Leon County fundraise toward goals set by the FSU chapter through school approved activities, with incentives built in throughout the year to keep momentum going. It gives FSU students real leadership experience while giving Leon County students a stage many of them have never had.
Founder Vince Nucatola says that kind of access is the whole point. Keeping the conference free to watch and the entry fees low is a deliberate choice, one meant to make sure no student gets priced out of a stage or a spotlight because of where they come from.
Amplify 850 is not just about one big event or one big year. It is about building a generation of Tallahassee students, from elementary schools through FSU, who grow up invested in each other’s success and who see this city as something worth giving back to.
More information and sign up forms for both high school and college membership are available at amplify850.org.
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