Community Engagement Takes Center Stage: Opera Modesto’s Summer Opera Institute By Hillari DeSchane “…I want other kids my age to know and help them realize that there are places like it to help them through hard times. I am so glad that it altered my life in such a positive way.”—Ellie “I have some learning challenges with auditory and visual processing problems. The staff was fantastic with working and encouraging me without making me feel any different from anyone else.”—Amy “… (a) game-changer for me. It brought out the personality and courage that I didn’t know I had.”—Roy Modesto’s business community has a well-earned reputation for investing in and supporting its neighbors, particularly its youth. So what organization is it whose youth program has earned these testimonials from its young participants? A health provider? A faith-based initiative? Would you believe — Opera Modesto? Yes, Modesto’s own opera company, founded over 35 years ago by Modesto native Buck Townsend, remains true to its small town-big heart ideals with its Summer Opera Institute for teens or SOI, entering its third year this July 20-31, 2020. This hands-on engagement with all parts of the community, not just its ticket-holding audience, is nothing new for the former Townsend Opera, now Opera Modesto, says General and Artistic Director Roy Stevens.
The Summer Opera Institute draws on opera’s cherished tradition of personal mentoring to feed into young people’s lives at perhaps their most vulnerable and challenging stage of development. Students train with accomplished opera and musical professionals in vocal technique, multiple foreign languages, stage movement and craft, plus public speaking and personal presentation. The hours are long, the training is rigorous, the commitment is intense. While participants do audition so they can be placed appropriately, vocal quality or previous training is not a prerequisite, nor is ability to pay. “We don’t anticipate that most, or even many, of them will go on (to sing academically or professionally)” Stevens says. What students do take away is the validation that caring and committed professionals saw their worth and shared skills that will prepare the student for whatever life path they pursue — and challenges they confront.
Summer Opera Institute students practice stage movement and spatial awareness. IMAGE COURTESY OPERA MODESTO
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While Opera Modesto continues to mount widely praised major productions such as ‘Madame Butterfly,’ ‘Carmen,’ and ‘Mansfield Park,’ its Summer Opera Institute, Top Young Artists (TOPYA) and small venue concerts are equally important to this community-focused arts organization. “Our motto is ‘Enriching the quality of life in the Central Valley through Opera,’” says board member Hillari DeSchane. “Those are not just words on our website, it’s what we believe, and what we work for in all our activities.” For more information about the Summer Opera Institute or Opera Modesto events, visit operamodesto.org or call Jewel Whitaker at 209523-6426.
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“What is new is that Opera Modesto is engaged in extensive, unexpected community engagement that is nationally unique and, we believe, promotes our shared interest in the health of the community.”
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APRIL 2020
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