Utah Opera Empowers Student Communities Through Music Education

For the past 40 years, USUO has been an industry leader in education and community engagement, offering nearly 250 performances and interactive opportunities annually for students and adult learners, presented by professional orchestra and opera artists.  

Furthering USUO’s legacy is the brand-new Mindful Music Moments program  introduced at the beginning of this school year. This innovative program enables students to deeply connect to music through guided listening and mindfulness exercises in the classroom. Created by mindfulness partner The Well, the program provides teachers with 40 weeks of Spanish- and English-language curricula, featuring daily mindfulness prompts, each followed by three to four minutes of an orchestral musical selection—including some that feature the Utah Symphony. The mindfulness prompts are intended to cultivate students' sense of awareness, ability to listen, and their emotional connection to music.  

Additionally, the featured repertoire can be uniquely curated so that students experience a preview or a follow-up to a live Utah Symphony performance, creating familiarity with the work and a deeper impact during those in-person opportunities. Many of the selected compositions were written by artists that reflect the diverse communities here in Utah. 

“This program gives students—and just as importantly, teachers—a moment of stillness and reflection.” says Director of Education & Community Engagement Ben Kipp. “These exercises are designed to meet them exactly where they are and give them the skills to compassionately respond, not just simply react.” 

“My students are more attentive and calm down more quickly,” notes a participating teacher. “The students come back into a proactive learning mode a lot quicker. Having a social-emotional learning program in my classroom is huge!” 

USUO’s education team aimed to register 10 schools for Mindful Music Moments this year; however, within just seven minutes of open registration, all 10 slots were filled. Recognizing a greater need, USUO met the demand. The program's growth is staggering, with 22 schools now registered for its first year, including 14 “Title 1” schools. The overwhelming demand is a testament to the fact that this is an extraordinarily valuable resource for teachers and students—and that USUO is delivering on its mission to connect the community through great live music.  

While USUO continually evolves its education programs to meet the needs of teachers and students, its longest-standing program is the Fifth-Grade Concerts that were started by Maurice Abravanel, the Utah Symphony’s legendary past Music Director for which Abravanel Hall was named. Each year, nearly 20,000 students attend these special performances during the school day; for many, it is their first introduction to live symphonic music.  

“The music was outstanding!” said a student attending the winter 2023 Fifth Grade Concert at Abravanel Hall. “All I had to do was close my eyes, and I would appear in another universe. I was blown away with everyone’s talent, and how we got to learn about composers and their life.”  

Additionally, this year’s in-school symphony concerts, aptly dubbed “This Is an Orchestra!,” have begun, led by new Assistant Conductor Matthew Straw. Designed to demonstrate the instruments of the orchestra, as well as varying musical elements and styles, this program brings world-class professional musicians right into Utah Schools. The repertoire includes classics from composers like Beethoven and Dvořák, as well as newer works by award-winning composer Jimmy López Bellido and Joe Hisaishi, the leading anime movie composer. Already in the 2023-24 school year, performances have taken place in Rich School District, Kanab School District, and Washington School District.  

Tasked with interpreting different elements and styles of music, students acquire listening, concentration, and visualization skills. In addition, they realize the power of music to tell stories through the lens of different cultures and time periods, as well as to express universal emotions and understand how live music builds community. As a result, these programs complement and supplement the core educational standards set in Utah. Plus, USUO’s education programs seek to establish lifetime enjoyment of, participation in, and advocacy for the musical arts. “We say often that we aren’t in the music business, but the memory-making business,” says Kipp. 

USUO also extends beyond the classroom—and engages students at the secondary school and college levels—through the Salute to Youth concert. Following a rigorous audition process, Utah’s talented and dedicated young musicians perform as soloists alongside the Utah Symphony. This year, nine musicians have been selected to perform in the 63rd Annual Salute to Youth concert, which is open to the public, on Wednesday, November 22. 

Another cornerstone of USUO’s education programs—and one which provides learning opportunities past the academic years—is the Utah Opera Resident Artist (RA) Program. Each season, hundreds of applicants audition for a spot as one of five early-career artists selected to spend nine months with USUO, participating in mainstage performances at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre; developing their craft through coaching, workshops, and masterclasses; and connecting the community through great live music as they travel to all corners of the state, visiting more than 150 schools annually. 

One highlight of the RA program is a captivating exploration of opera presented in the style of a game show titled "Who Wants to Be an Opera Star?" Presented at school assemblies, this program introduces opera in an accessible format that is exciting for the youngest audiences, K through 6th grade. Students become active participants, discovering the nuances of storytelling through music, unraveling the intricacies of character development, and exploring the vibrant history of opera.  

“It’s the best thing I could have done for my students this year,” reflects a Midvale Elementary School teacher. “Not only was it opera, it was vocal technique, career day, and modern music all rolled into one. And our students need it.” In September, the RAs ventured out on their first state tour of the school year, performing for students in Vernal, Dutch John, Manila, and Lapoint.  

Joining the second-year RAs (pianist Laura Bleakley, soprano Jasmine Rodriguez, and baritone Tshilidzi Ndou) are two artists new to Utah Opera this year: mezzo-soprano Sarah Scofield and tenor Jeremiah Tyson.  

Altogether, USUO delivers more than two-dozen types of education programs, from performances in school gymnasiums, to opportunities to peek behind the scenes at dress rehearsals, to classes and lectures for adult learners. Kipp, sharing his thoughts on the meaningful work he and his team carry out at USUO, reflects: “USUO has such an incredible legacy of providing music education to generations of Utahns. Our team gets to carry on that legacy, creating and designing experiences that are meaningful to communities throughout the state. My colleagues and I have a lot of fun and we get to bring that fun with us into each program we offer—I think people see and feel that.” 

For more information about USUO’s education programs, please visit utahsymphony.org and utahopera.org. 

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