Elementary School Students Debut Their Own Operas

Elementary school-aged students in San Francisco will be performing selections from their very own operas in a Benefit Concert on April 7th at 3:30pm with the help of some adult guests, including graduate students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM). The students of Little Opera have been working since the beginning of the school year to create operas built from their own imaginations, and have partnered with SFCM's internship program to give students from both sides of the educational spectrum the opportunity to learn from each other.

Graduate student and Little Opera intern, Cristina Lanz says that working with "Little Opera is particularly great because it encourages us to try to figure things out on our own, but also gives a great amount of support, so we feel confident." This partnership has been invaluable to the graduate student interns of Little Opera, who work both in the classroom, teaching, and in the office, doing outreach. Graduate student intern and composer, Erica MacLeod says "Having the chance... to use my compositional and accompanying skills in a way that excites the children involved... has been unbelievably rewarding." The interns split their time between the after-school program in West Portal and pursuing their own studies at SFCM, but they have been able to take what they've learned from the kids of Little Opera into their own studies. According to Postgraduate student intern and singer, Christina Swindlehurst Chan, "seeing what the kids have created themselves changes the way I understand opera because they are making something simple, meaningful, and approachable with only the power of their imaginations."

To hear both the elementary school students of Little Opera and the graduate student interns from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music performing Little Opera original works, visit littleopera.org to get tickets for Little Opera's Benefit Concert. The concert on April 7th will be held at the Conservatory, and will start at 3:30pm with a champagne reception. 100% of funds raised will go directly to the student scholarship fund.

About Little Opera

Little Opera is an after-school program in San Francisco that makes opera with kids. Students work with teaching artists for over 130 hours over the course of 9 months to write a story, craft a libretto, compose melodies, rehearse, and perform a 10-20 minute show. The result? A micro opera that is 100% built from their own imaginations.

Founded in 2011 by San Francisco playwright and librettist Erin Bregman, Little Opera's mission is to build a vibrant creative community - through the creation and performance of original opera - that transcends divides and transforms the lives of children, families, and artists. The program runs from September through May at West Portal Elementary School, with performances at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. More information: littleopera.org.

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