Home is where the heart is and, for Class of 2001 Colonist Oscar Gonzalez, his heart is back home in Room 66 on the Anaheim High campus, where he is starting a new role as dance director for the 2019-20 class year and beyond.

Oscar began dancing at Anaheim High under instructor Meg Elder, who recently retired after a 35-year career.

His Anaheim dance experience also includes performing with the Anaheim Ballet and at Disneyland in “Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular.”

His horizons expanded when he moved to New York to study at the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School. While in New York, Oscar also trained a summer with the American Ballet Theater, which is considered one of the greatest dance companies in the world.

His ballet credits include, Cinderella, Napoli, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Nutcracker and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

In addition to ballet, Oscar is formally trained in jazz, lyrical, modern and contemporary dance styles. He has displayed his talents in numerous professional musical theater productions, including Hello Dolly, West Side Story, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, A Chorus Line, Evita and has been a principal in The Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral.

His dancing has also taken him across the globe to perform for the grand opening of the King Abdulah University of Science and Technology in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

His passion for teaching and sharing his art with young people led him to working internationally as a dance coach and choreographer, including a stop in Cape Town, South Africa, where he created a dance intensive for students from age 6 to 25.

Back home in Anaheim, he taught dance at Anaheim High for several years as a walk-on coach. He also gained extensive experience as the ballet director at McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts in La Mirada, and at Smitty’s Performing Arts Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Throughout his travels and adventures, Oscar continued his education to earn his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from St. Mary’s College of California.  He is currently working on his master’s degree in education.

Oscar said he is “beyond grateful” for the opportunity to teach dance at Anaheim High. “To go back to my roots and to be able to give back to Anaheim High has so much meaning for me,” he said. “Room 66 has been a home for so many, and now I get the chance to make it my home and a new home to many more artists.”

Joaquin Valdepeñas, a Class of ’73 Colonist alumnus, received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from CSU Fullerton, where he graduated in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in music performance.

Principal clarinetist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Valdepeñas is considered one of the most distinguished clarinetists of his generation. As a soloist and recitalist, he has been principal clarinetist in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1980. He also is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Amici Chamber Ensemble. He recently returned to CSUF to teach classes for maturing clarinetists.

His dozens of recordings have earned two JUNO awards and three Grammy nominations. He has performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Leif Ove Andsnes and Kathleen Battle, as well as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.

A native of Torreon, Mexico, Valdepeñas grew up in Anaheim, where he began studying the clarinet with the Anaheim High school band at 13, using a borrowed instrument. After completing his studies at CSUF, he was admitted to the prestigious music performance program at Yale University, where he earned his master’s degree.

Established in 1994, the Vision & Visionaries awards are the highest honors that the university bestows on alumni and community supporters.