CRISSY PASQUAL / Union-Tribune Mary Abramson cheered after receiving her diploma at Canyon Crest Academy's first graduation yesterday.

CARMEL VALLEY – First of all, without overstating things, it's fair to say that some of Canyon Crest Academy's high school graduates could make the finals on “American Idol.”

From Staley Carter's rendition of the national anthem, to a performance by Ruby Gorcey-Biblowitz and Philip Hu of Gavin DeGraw's “Chariot,” there was some serious talent dressed in black robes yesterday.

The graduation ceremony marked the first for Canyon Crest Academy in Carmel Valley. Just over 400 seniors walked yesterday, looking cool wearing sunglasses and colorful leis.

Canyon Crest, part of the San Dieguito Union High School District, opened four years ago as a school of choice specializing in the performing arts and technology. But it has a pretty mean boys tennis squad and volleyball team, too.

Senior William Lin may have summed things up when he told several thousand family members and others gathered at the campus' outdoor basketball courts:

CRISSY PASCUAL / Union-Tribune Canyon Crest Academy celebrates its first ever graduating class. Members of the graduating class sing at the finale.

“Even though our spring theater productions attract way more people than any of our athletic matches, it doesn't mean we aren't proud of the successes of our athletes.”

Lin's speech, self-deprecating and irreverent, earned repeated laughter.

“Our status as an alternative school has led to the assumption that we attract the alternative student,” Lin said. “Often this implies drug use and hippie mysticism. While no doubt there's some of that going on, the label alternative does not have to be a condescending one. The quirks of our classmates are what make our campus interesting.

“We embrace the original and the genuine,” Lin continued. “Even if you're not accepted by everyone at (Canyon Crest Academy), you are at least accepted by somebody, somebody who appreciates your eccentricities and odd behavioral traits.

“This isn't to say that we all hate football, spend our time fighting the man, and would rather do interpretive dance than watch trashy reality TV programming.”

And so on.

More than 75 percent of Canyon Crest's graduates are set to attend four-year colleges in the fall, and another 19 percent plan to enroll in community colleges, said Brian Kõhn, the school's principal.

Hu, an accomplished pianist who performed several times during the ceremony, is headed to University of California Santa Barbara. He said he wants to study mechanical engineering, although he would like to continue playing the keyboard. He plays in a band with some friends.

Hu's father said his son thrived at the school, diving into music instruction while at the same time taking higher-level math courses. “The way the curriculum goes, courses are 90 minutes a day, every day, so you can get really enmeshed in it,” Hu said of his son's opportunity to build an in-depth understanding of his schoolwork.

Michael Gaughen, an English teacher and adviser for the academy's yearbook, said the faculty has worked hard to develop a program that has strong academics, performing arts programs and athletics.

“We've stayed true to what we set out to do when we first opened, which was to balance all three,” he said.

Canyon Crest's graduates started out as ninth-graders when the school opened in the fall of 2004. They were the only class in the beginning, and subsequent classes were added year by year.

The result was that the founding class of the school played a big role in developing the culture and attitudes of their campus.

“It's always been about the family,” Xochi Holt, 18, said of her fellow graduates. “With all of us together, it's been like a home. Other people, they just don't understand.”

Dana Avesar, a 17-year-old junior, said teenagers are free to express themselves at school, and there's little to no pressure to conform.

“You can tell by just walking through the school, everyone's wearing their own fashion and everyone's artistic,” she said.

“Our little motto is to let them discover their passions, and we're hopefully set up so they can do that,” Gaughen said. “It looks like we did it, but now we're going to send them out into the world to make sure.”

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Bruce Lieberman: (760) 476-8205; bruce.lieberman@uniontrib.com