New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Class of 2012 is a special one. The class of 128 students from across southeastern Louisiana has received over $14.2 million dollars in scholarship offers from the most prestigious colleges and art conservatories in the country. This figure averages over $110,000 per student exclusive of TOPS, the highest per capita and total awards in NOCCA’s history.

The local student highlights include:

Vivian Buchanan of St. Rose, a NOCCA Vocal Music student, has been selected through competitive audition process and will be attending the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music on scholarship. Vivian plans to further her studies in opera and classical music performance after her graduation from Destrehan High and NOCCA.

The public is invited to congratulate its Class of 2012 during its annual recital and end-of-the-year performance season Celebration. Celebration provides the opportunity for students to showcase their training at NOCCA before they begin the journey of becoming professional artists. Visit www.nocca.com for more information on any of the following events which all take place at NOCCA, 2800 Chartres St., New Orleans:

• May 5, 7 p.m. – Vocal Music Recitals (Lupin)

• May 9, 5 p.m. – Vocal Music Prep Concert (Reily)

• May 10, 6 p.m. – Visual Arts Student Show Opening Reception (Kirschman/Campus)

• May 10-12, 7 p.m. – Spring Dance Performance (Lupin)

• May 11, 6 p.m. – Classical Instrumental Senior Recital (Reily)

• May 15, 7 p.m. – Media Arts Film Festival (Lupin)

• May 17, 4 p.m. – Musical Theatre Level III/IV Showcase (Lupin)

NOCCA, Louisiana’s arts conservatory for high school students, offers students from across the state tuition-free arts instruction in Creative Writing, Culinary Arts, Dance, Media Arts: Filmmaking & Audio Production, Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts and Academics. Potential students should visit www.nocca.com for more information.