Younger Yamagata Wins Poster Contest

A brightly colored poster by Aaron Yamagata, 9, a sixth-grader at the Fine Arts and Music Academy in Valley Village, was selected Friday to take a page in the program for the Valley Cultural Center’s concert series.

About 230 public and private school students participated in the eighth annual art contest, which was open to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, said cultural center board member Lulu Kamatoy. The theme was “Music in the Valley.”

The winning poster features a female vocalist at Warner Center Park surrounded by instruments.

Aaron was awarded a $200 savings bond and a compact disc player. This was not the first time he received an award. In December, the Encino boy, son of Los Angeles artist Hiro Yamagata, was selected as one of two California finalists in a U.S. Postal Service contest. Other winners were: Jackie Domine, 10, a fifth-grader at Calvert Street Elementary School, who earned second place and won a $100 savings bond; and Iliana Najar, 11, a fifth-grader at Oxnard Street Elementary in North Hollywood, who placed third and won a $50 savings bond.

The winning poster will be featured in the cultural center’s concert series program this summer. About 25,000 programs will be distributed, said cultural center Executive Director James W. Kinsey III. Concerts sponsored by the center will begin in June at Warner Center Park.

The contest offers several benefits to participants, Kamatoy said.

“They can use their imaginations, bolster their self-confidence,” she said.