Napa Valley Opera House Launches New Education Program

On October 5th, The Napa Valley Opera House (NVOH) will be hosting a reception kick off NVOH's new education initiative, which will bring NVOH artists and resources into Napa Valley area schools in support of Napa County's arts educational goals. NVOH has already partnered with the Napa County Office of Education and Napa Learns, plus other community and education partnerships to be announced. These partners will be a part of developing and implementing a project-based learning program connected through a variety of artistic mediums including music, film, dance, and theater. Additional plans include bringing artists performing at NVOH directly to Napa classrooms, creating opportunities for students to directly engage with artists through masterclasses and other performance-based learning opportunities. Initially, NVOH will be focusing its support and resources on schools that serve primarily low-income populations, providing children with unique access to arts education where they would normally not have the opportunity.

Mechanics Bank have generously sponsored an exploratory season beginning in Fall 2013, allowing NVOH to work with local education organizations to create an advisory board to assist in the development of arts-integrated pilot projects that will include curricular ties, performance opportunities, and student interaction with a featured NVOH artist who will work in schools and offer a special performance and masterclass. Through this exploratory season, NVOH will begin planning for full implementation of an indepth educational program commencing in Fall 2014.

The new education program is part of a broader initiative of the Opera House's that will bring enhanced community programming to Napa in 2014. These programs will be part of the 75 shows the Opera House will produce in addition to City Winery and will focus on genres such as jazz, classical and opera, world music, as well as Richard Miami's vintage film series.

Educators interested in attending the October 5th "Educators Circle" event are encouraged to RSVP to the event by contacting Jessica Thomason atJessica@nvoh.org.

The Napa Valley Opera House has been one of Napa's most important cultural icons since 1880, and now, through partnering with other non-profit organizations, arts groups, and schools, the organization continues to be a resource and cultural center for the entire community, bringing programming that is as diverse and accessible as the surrounding area.