The next “American Idol” just might be your Osceola County neighbor.
High school sophomore Safin Karim, 16, recently received an honorable mention in
the 2021 NFMC Martha Marcks Mack National Junior Vocal Award auditions to go along with his long range of impressive accomplishments.
At those auditions, he entered a program of five selections in Art Song and Musical Theater, singing in English, Italian and German.
In the Florida Federation of Music Clubs State Convention auditions, Safin won four state awards, including two solo Musically Advanced I honors, and a pair of $200 scholarships for earning the Junior Award for Musically Outstanding Male Voice; and the Florida Summer Music Camp Award.
Among Safin’s previous awards are first place in the FFMC State Male Musical Theater Vocal category, the Grace Krick Sanford Vocal Scholarship, and Osceola Arts Theater awards as Best Male Vocalist, Best Supporting Actor, Best Male Dancer and Best Male Ensemble.
His favorite roles include Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” Professor Callahan in “Legally Blonde,” and Zach in “A Chorus Line,” as well as roles in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”
After serving as teaching assistant and music director for the Garden Theatre student camps, Safin is currently music director, coach/accompanist for Harmony High School, St. Cloud Middle School and the Osceola County School for the Arts “Arts Abound” student performance club.
He also is performing with the Osceola Rocks youth band, playing piano and singing, and is part of the “Saf and Sabrina” duo with musician Sabrina Brooks in a combination of piano, bass guitar, vocals and harp at various locations in Central Florida.
Safin is studying voice and piano with Victoria Lynn Schultz, who taught piano, voice and harp at UCF, Rollins and Valencia colleges. She also served as coach/accompanist for music theater/opera programs at Drake, UCF, professional dinner theaters, and the Disney Performing Arts program.
