Fort Worth Opera Announces Innovative FWO ARTS-IN-PLACE Educational Curriculum For North Texas Music Students

Fort Worth Opera (FWO) announced today the creation of FWO Arts-In-Place. An extension of the company's forward-thinking educational program, this online curriculum is designed for North Texas music students who are currently on hiatus from their regular class schedules during the widespread COVID-19 outbreak. Each FWO Arts-In-Place digital packet will include links for students and their families to download comprehensive study guides and entertaining videos (not all produced by FWO) of Puccini's La Bohème and Strauss II's Revenge of the Bat (Die Fledermaus). Fort Worth Opera is also giving students a sneak peek of Héctor Armienta's thrilling new opera Zorro (and other Zorro-inspired performances), plus a live performance of the company's recent world premiere family opera Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, by FWO Artistic Director Joe Illick and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell.

FWO Arts-In-Place packets provide students with detailed information about each opera, the historical context surrounding them, the creative teams within each show, fun opera facts, and age-appropriate activities that utilize household items. During the 2019-2020 school year, Fort Worth Opera's education department kicked off a new parent engagement initiative to encourage communication between students and their parents. The company developed this innovative and much-needed curriculum based upon empirical evidence obtained from teachers, parents, school administrators, and community arts leaders. The hope is that it will continue to foster open dialogue in each household and help children learn more about classical music, while still fulfilling state educational requirements.

"As we brave the difficult and uncertain weeks ahead, we realize that people are making provisions in many ways to maintain some semblance of normalcy. The world has taken to social media and the internet for everything from entertainment to connectivity to others," says FWO Manager of Education and Community Engagement, Sheran Goodspeed Keyton.

"While the students in North Texas are prohibited from returning to their regular class schedules, school districts have done an amazing job of providing online learning tools for them. However, many of those tools are limited to academic disciplines. The education department of Fort Worth Opera would like to offer some creative and artistic additions to your at-home curriculum."

Each season, Fort Worth Opera's acclaimed education department offers thousands of middle and high school students the opportunity to experience the company's exhilarating productions at Bass Performance Hall, through Student Night at the Opera. This inspirational program invites students to attend FWO productions with the renowned Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. In light of the City of Fort Worth's Declaration of Public Health Emergency and the postponement of FWO's 2020 Festival performances, students who were scheduled to attend Puccini's La Bohème and Strauss II's Revenge of the Bat (Die Fledermaus), will now receive an insider's look at these wonderful classic operas, in addition to FWO's latest exciting world premiere.

 

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