CoSA Preview Night

The Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA), San Diego County’s premier public school arts conservatory, welcomes prospective CoSA students and families to CoSA Preview Night. The event takes place on Tuesday, February 25 at 6 pm at the Coronado Performing Arts Center at 650 D Avenue. The preview night is open to all San Diego students who will be in grades 9 through 12 for the 2025-2026 school year. In addition, students can begin the audition process by visiting CoSASanDiego.com.

This CoSA Preview Night features something new and exciting: current CoSA students will prepare performances and show off projects so the community gets a snapshot of the quality of  work created by CoSA students. It’s a great time to learn more about CoSA, the six different conservatories, as well as the audition and application process.

“We’re excited to show prospective students what CoSA artists are up to,” said Shane Schmeichel, Director of Special Projects for CUSD. “Our CoSA Preview Night in December welcomed dozens of young artists and their families, and we are expecting even more guests at our final preview event of the year on February 25th.”

CoSA is home to more than 175 scholar artists in grades 9 through 12. CoSA provides an intensive, pre-professional arts education to students from Coronado and from all over San Diego, who are admitted after an application and audition process. The purpose of the audition process is to build relationships with future teachers and to confirm that the student is passionate and dedicated to the art form so that the student is not overwhelmed once classes have started. The school is dedicated to nurturing students who are prepared to take on the challenge of becoming the next generation of young artists and critical thinkers.

All CoSA students attend Coronado High School, most of whom spend the first three periods of block scheduling in academic courses, then attend CoSA classes for two and a half hours for arts instruction. With a curriculum designed by professional artists and educators, students are immersed in their chosen specialty in one of six conservatories: Classical and Contemporary Dance, Digital Arts (Animation, Filmmaking, and Graphic Design), Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre & Drama, Theatre Production, Design & Management and Visual Art.

“Our students have the most amazing opportunities with this pre-professional program,” said Linda Edison, President of the CoSA Foundation. “It gives them creativity in doing something they love and fosters responsibility and leadership skills within a community of like-minded students. They have so many opportunities to shine!”

About CoSA

Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) is San Diego County’s premier public school arts conservatory, home to 175 scholar artists grades 9 through 12, who attend the nationally ranked Coronado High School. CoSA provides an intense, pre-professional arts education to students from Coronado and from all over San Diego, who are admitted after a competitive application/audition process.

Each school day CoSA offers three or more hours of instruction, pairing young artists with educators who are also industry specialists. With a curriculum designed by professional artist/educators, students are immersed in their chosen specialty in one of six conservatories: Classical and Contemporary Dance, Digital Arts (Animation, Filmmaking, and Graphic Design), Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre & Drama, Theatre Production, Design & Management and Visual Art. CoSA is a State of California-approved Career Technical Education program.

Our award-winning student artists perform and exhibit at the Coronado Performing Arts Center on the Coronado High School campus, in either the 570 seat Main Stage or 80 seat Black Box theatre. Coronado Performing Arts Center is also available for rent to local organizations. About twenty five percent of the CoSA budget is raised each year by the CoSA Foundation. If you would like to see the arts continue to thrive in education, please consider making a donation at www.cosafoundation.org.