ADJUDICATORS

We are delighted to welcome our Adjudicators!

Musicianship Adjudicators

RON JESSEE, B.A., M.A, has a long and fulfilling connection to choral music, theatre, dance, and visual arts in Southern California. He taught high school choir and theatre in the Grossmont Union High School District for 22 years before becoming the Assistant Principal of Monte Vista and Grossmont High Schools respectively. In 2001, Mr. Jessee became the Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts for the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE). Upon his arrival at the SDCOE, Mr. Jessee created the innovative VAPA Standards 101-103 Workshops, recognized throughout California as a model for standards-based professional development. He is also the founder and facilitator of the San Diego Arts Network (SDAN) and the Co-Founder of the Arts Education Resource Organization of San Diego (AERO-SD). In 2012, he became a teacher at California State University, San Marcos, focusing on the instruction of future teachers around how to integrate the arts into the teaching of Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. Mr. Jessee is Past-President of the San Diego County Art Education Association and has served on the Boards of the California Music Educators Association-Southern Border Section and the San Diego Theatre Education Alliance. Mr. Jessee has also served on the Education Council of the La Jolla Playhouse. Since 1985, Mr. Jessee has been the Organist and Music Director at Pacific Beach United Methodist Church.

JOE PAGIOU is an independent music professional in demand as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer in Southern California.  He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Arts, a Master of Music in Trombone Performance and a Master of Music in Choral Music (Conducting) from the USC Thornton School of Music.  A scholarship student of the Choral and Sacred Music Department at USC, Mr. Paguio has served as Chorus Master of the USC Opera, Assistant Conductor of the USC Men’s Chorus, and as Assistant Conductor of the USC University Chorus. As a tenor, Mr. Paguio was a 4-year member of the internationally acclaimed USC Chamber Choir and has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the Hollywood Bowl.  Mr. Paguio is an alumnus of Chula Vista High School’s SCPA program.  Simultaneously a member of the SCPA and drum major of CVHS’ marching band, Mr. Paguio conducted both instrumental and choral ensembles under the supervision of Eric Mabrey and Dave Trevino.  During his tenure at CVHS, Mr. Paguio performed principal roles in several of the SCPA’s musical productions.  Mr. Paguio recently completed a stint as Choir Director at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Long Beach and has also served as Director of Music at St. Cecilia Church in Tustin.  Equally at home as a performer and as a pedagogue, Mr. Paguio has served as Director of Music at Cornelia Connelly School in Anaheim (a private high school for girls), where he conducted the three choral ensembles and two handbell ensembles.  Prior to his appointment at Cornelia Connelly School, Mr. Paguio had served as Assistant Conductor of the University of Southern California University Chorus and completed a 3-year tenure of teaching choral and instrumental ensembles at Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra.  In addition to his impressive repertoire of musical skills, Mr. Paguio also works as a recording engineer, photographer, and videographer in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, and enjoys equally working as a producer of multimedia, a music educator, and a performer.

Showmanship Adjudicators

GINA BOLLES SORENSON is an artist, educator, and yoga teacher. She is the Director of the Conservatory of Classical and Contemporary Dance at the Coronado School of the Arts and adjunct faculty in the Department of Dance at Grossmont College. She and her husband, Kyle Sorensen, co-direct a platform for live performance and digital dance projects known as somebodies dance theater. Since 2009, somebodies dance theater has presented work to critical acclaim in national and international venues in California, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, Minnesota, Texas, Israel, Poland, Bulgaria, and Mexico, among others. Following eight months dedicated to dance research in Israel, Gina and Kyle developed a dance practice called SubtleBodyBigDance, which weaves imagery and movement in guided improvisations and set choreography, and teach the practice weekly at San Diego Dance Theater. Learn more at www.somebodiesdancetheater.com. Gina has also published original research on imagery in dance learning in the Journal of Dance Education, received two grants to study Bharatanatyam in India, presented at the Women in Dance Leadership Conference in Philadelphia, and was awarded a National Artist Teacher Fellowship from the Boston Arts Academy. As a child, Gina learned to walk, and later danced, on the floor of the Bolles Theater at Bonita Vista High School and is a Music Machine alumnus.

ANDRIA ELAM -  Performing since she was 4, Andria is an accomplished dancer, vocalist, and entertainer.  She has toured and performed in 13 states and 11 countries, which brought her into memorable venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Yokohama Stadium, and four Disney Theme Parks. One of Andria's most memorable jobs was performing at Disneyland for three years as part of their world-famous Character Department.  She also danced as a professional cheerleader for the San Diego Sockers for four years; three of those while also serving as the Director/Choreographer. Other performance work has included regional theatre, Legoland CA, traveling dinner theatre shows, and large-scale corporate events.  As a choreographer, Andria has recently worked on productions for San Diego Visual Productions, National Charity League, Young Actors’ Theatre, and specialty entertainment for non-profits.  She currently works as a singer, dancer, and stilt walker for several entertainment companies, and teaches Ballroom and Latin Dancing.  As a Music Machine alumnus, she attributes a big part of her decision at age 14 to become a professional entertainer to the education and training she received from Ron and Reina Bolles.  In 2021, Andria was crowned Mrs. California United States and traveled over 18,000 miles promoting Thoroughbred Racehorse Aftercare.  When not performing, she can be found training in Hunter/Jumpers with her Off Track Thoroughbred, Cranky Jack.  Andria and Jack are proud Ambassadors of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.