Candace Otto

Candace Otto was crowned Miss Pennsylvania on July 12, 2003. At the Miss America Pageant, she was awarded the Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Award and a non-finalist talent award. She was the first Miss Pennsylvania to win the Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Award and the first Miss Pennsylvania since 1991 to win a non-finalist talent award. During her year as Miss Pennsylvania, she made over 150 appearances as a keynote speaker or featured performer. Her platform issue "Challenging Americans to Address Poverty" was inspired by her work with National Student Partnerships (NSP). Candace was a co-founder of NSP Evanston and has served on the advisory board of NSP Pittsburgh.

She is a native of Murrysville, Pennsylvania and began her performing career at the age of ten, with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, performing on the stages of the Benedum Center and the Byham Theater. After graduating from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1998, she studied Musical Theater at Northwestern University. After graduation, Candace was given an opportunity to study opera with the Ezio Pinza Council of American Singers of Opera, in Italy. At the urging of teacher Claudia Pinza, Candace set aside Musical Theater to study opera. Performances both in the US and abroad include: “The Games of Love” (Oderzo, Italy), “The Mother of Sorrows Jubilee Tour” (Florence, Milan, Assisi, Rome & The Vatican), “First Night New Years Celebration” (Pittsburgh, PA), “The Hillman Center for Performing Arts Grand Opening Gala” (Pittsburgh, PA), and concerts at Carlow University. She was a soloist at a U.S. Naval Academy memorial service following the events of September 11th, and has sung at the Grotto of Lourdes, France.

As a model and voiceover artist, she can be seen or heard in advertisements for: Fisher Price, Pampers, GNC, Saucony, U.S. Steel, National City, Sheetz, The Children’s Health Insurance Program, & Dick’s Sporting Goods.

References

* [http://www.misspa.org Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant]
* [http://www.missamerica.org Miss America]
* [http://www.candaceotto.com Her Homepage]
* [http://www.nspnet.org National Student Partnerships]
* "The Time of Her Life"
:Pittsburgh Tribune Review
:April 7, 2004
*"Miss Pennsylvania's Pageant Experience Unforgettable"
:The Catholic Accent
:October 2, 2003
*"Beauty is only part of the picture for a Miss America competitor"
:Pittsburgh Tribune Review
:September 19, 2003
*"Murrysville Woman Ready for Miss America Challenge"
:Pittsburgh Tribune Review
:September 9, 2003
*"There She Is"
:Pittsburgh Tribune Review Fanfare
:August 18, 2003
*"Newsmaker: She's Using Pageant Platform as a Soapbox"
:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
:July 21, 2003