Sarasota Youth Opera Awarded $25,000 NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that Sarasota Opera is one of 886 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Sarasota Opera is recommended for a $25,000 grant to support Sarasota Youth Opera programs.

Sarasota Youth Opera (YO) is the most comprehensive program in the United States to introduce young singers, ages 8 - 18, to opera, and the only program currently committed to annually producing fully-staged opera specifically for young voices. Since the program began in 1984, nearly 2,000 young people have been YO members. Youth Opera Programs provide direct, hands-on music education activities to over 1,100 Southwest Florida students each year. All students are welcomed at Sarasota Youth Opera; no student is ever turned away because of financial need, and partnerships with local youth nonprofits have resulted in a significant increase in YO enrollment since 2010.

Sarasota Youth Opera includes five distinct programs. One fully-staged youth opera is produced each fall, with two performances in repertory with the Opera's fall main stage production. Youth Opera Productions have roles expressly written for children and young adults to perform. There have been a total of 26 different Youth Opera (YO) productions since 1986, including five commissions and multiple world premieres. These productions offer young singers from the greater Sarasota community in-depth musical, dramatic and interpretive training, culminating in public performances of legitimate operatic works, with principal and chorus roles of various sizes for youth. In November 2014, Sarasota Youth Opera plans a production of Dean Burry's The Hobbit presented on Sarasota Opera's main stage.

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The NEA is pleased to announce that Sarasota Youth Opera is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

"We are extremely grateful to the NEA for their continued support of the Sarasota Youth Opera program," says Executive Director Richard Russell. "Through this grant, the NEA is helping us continue to provide high level music education and unique performance opportunities to the musical youth of the greater Sarasota Community."

Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 are recommended for grants for a total of $25.8 million.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

Photo by Rod Millington

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