Coronado School of the Arts

Prestigious Arts and Entertainment Award Honors Kris McClung; Founding Director of CoSA

McClung is credited as a visionary and the passionate force behind the creation of CoSA. She began her career at Coronado High School as an English teacher in the 1970s. As a lifetime arts and theater enthusiast, McClung recognized a need to further develop and expand arts programs at CHS.

Her decades-long quest to develop a pre-professional conservatory style performing arts ‘school within a school’ at CHS became a reality in 1996 when CoSA was established as a place of creative excellence where students could experience individual growth and opportunity in a diverse and inclusive space where all students would thrive and flourish.

McClung is not only the founder of Coronado School of the Arts, but also a founder of the state of CA AME (Arts, Media and Entertainment) Institute, a training ground and place to share best practices for thousands of arts teachers across the stage of California.

We are so very thankful for Ms. McClung and everything she has and still is doing for CoSA. She is an incredible person and her love for the arts is immeasurable.

Please click on the link for the whole article from the Coronado Eagle & Journal

At the recent San Diego Music Awards 2025

CoSA Alumni Ed Kornhauser was up for Best Jazz Artist and won!

CoSA Alumni Alex Ciavarelli was up for Best Jazz Album for his Tribute to Oscar Peterson!

CoSA Alumni Mackenzie Leighton was also up for Best Jazz Album!

Please click on the links below to read the articles:

San Diego Music Awards 2025

Has served 19 seasons with the Santa Fe Opera beginning her opera production career as a stage management intern in 2004. She returned almost every summer for the next 15 years, filling the role of production stage manager for nine seasons. During that time, Dennis also worked in stage management departments nationwide. As the former production stage manager at Los Angeles Opera and Boston Lyric Opera, she has had a flourishing career working with various opera companies, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, and New York City Opera. Dennis was on the stage management staff for several Broadway productions including John Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown and the Tony Award®–winning play Fences. In 2019, Dennis joined the year-round Santa Fe Opera production staff and was promoted to director of production in 2020. Her responsibilities included managing the production department for five mainstage operas, two nights of apprentice scenes, Opera in the Park, and the Opera for All Voices productions. Dennis holds a degree from San Francisco State University, where she studied technical theatre with an emphasis in stage management. She spent her final year of school abroad in Florence, Italy to study Italian language and literature. She is originally from Coronado, California.

 

Started his dance training at the age of 15 in San Diego, California. He attended Coronado School of the Arts, where he received his high school diploma. During those developmental years, he also trained under Emmy award winner, Tessandra Chavez, Taura Hall, and received an honorable mention from the National Young Arts Foundation! Upon graduation, He was accepted into the Purchase Conservatory of Dance, class of 2015.  At Purchase, he performed works by Stephen Petronio, Shannon Gillen, and Loni Landon. Additionally, Joshua had the opportunity to briefly learn under the leadership of Kazuko Hirabayashi, before her passing. Continuing his training, Joshua was accepted into SpringBoard Danse de Montreal, working within creative processes with Gabriel Forestieri, Rubbberbandance, Madboots Dance co, Sylvain Émard Dance, Loud Hound Movement, and Alexander Ekman. Joshua now lives and works in San Diego, Ca within the arts and non-profit community here!

 

Sydney Zuckerman:

Graduated class of 2023 Musical Theatre and Drama Conservatory received the first ever Coronado Promenade Concert Scholarship.

Sydney was chosen as part of the annual Coronado High School scholarship selection that is managed by the high school leadership, where students are chosen based on a variety of leadership and achievement criteria. Through this scholarship, Zuckerman was awarded $5,000 toward her future musical and educational pursuits. Zuckerman will be attending Sacramento State University this upcoming fall semester. As she looks forward, she feels grateful for the role music has played in her life, as well as what this scholarship means for her future.

 

A 2022 graduate of the Musical Theatre and Drama Conservatory, won Best Performance by an Actress at the National High School Musical Theatre “Jimmy” Awards on Broadway in June.  She was the first-ever winner from San Diego County.  Kendall, an aspiring songwriter and guitarist, is a freshman at Marymount Manhattan College where she is studying Musical Theatre.

Graduated from CoSA’s Musical Theatre and Drama Conservatory in 2011 and attended Northwestern University, where he received a B.A. in Theatre with minors in Film/Media Studies and Business.  He has a successful acting and voice over career, appearing in television, film, and on stage.  Read more about Michael at www.michaelsilberblatt.com. 

Is a 2011 graduate of CoSA’s Technical Theatre Conservatory.  He obtained his B.F.A. in Stage Management from the California Institute of the Arts in 2015.  Dillon is currently Stage Manager for Wynn Resorts Las Vegas.  Prior to his move to Wynn, he worked in China as primary Show Caller with The House of Dancing Water in Macau.

A CoSA Alumn of the Musical Theatre and Drama Conservatory, is an Emmy-nominated Senior Promotion Writer and Producer for KTVU in San Francisco, California.  After graduating from CoSA, Ms. Fox attended Emerson College in Boston, where she earned a B.S. in journalism with an emphasis in television broadcasting.