Opera Company of Middlebury Reveals Merger with Youth Opera Company

The Opera Company of Middlebury has announcedthe merger of the pioneering teen performance program, the Youth Opera Company of Vermont (YOC), with the OCM Education and Outreach division, led by Founder, Executive Director, and soprano Sarah Cullins and Music Director Mary Jane Austin. Going forward, the program will now be known as the Youth Opera Company of OCM. YOC’s integration further elevates OCM’s 20 year-history as a leader among Vermont arts organizations and opera companies world-wide in offering comprehensive and multi-faceted opportunities for education, participation, professional training, and community engagement. The cast of Youth Opera’s current production, "From Spain With Love,” includes students from Burlington High School, Rice Memorial High School, Harwood Union High School, Montpelier High School U32 High School, The Pacem School and Norwich University.

“We had always hoped to start a vigorous youth program,” says OCM Artistic Director Douglas Anderson, “but until now, we never had someone with the skills to make it work. Youth programs require someone who has mastered not only the art of vocal technique, but who has also mastered the art of inspiring young people. Sarah Cullins is just the person to make this a huge success.”

Cullins, who has assumed the title of Director of Education and Outreach, has been a frequent soloist in OCM productions, a member of the Board of Directors, and Director of the OCM Young Artists Program. She founded the Youth Opera Company of Vermont in 2019, which became an independent nonprofit organization in 2022. Described by Cullins as an “interscholastic varsity opera team,” Youth Opera is a supportive space for singers not only to hone their vocal, musical and dramatic skills, but also to develop a lifelong love of the art form. All participants, whether or not they are aspiring pre-professionals, benefit from the transferable skills taught during YOC programs, such as public speaking, résumé/bio writing and audition training (akin to interview training). With this merger, OCM joins an exclusive international group of companies offering teen programs, such as the Santa Fe Young Voices Program, the Washington National Opera Institute and the Royal Opera House Youth Opera (U.K.).

Opera Company of Middlebury’s expanded educational and outreach programs now comprise:

·Opera Under 26: a free ticket program for audience members under age 26 to have access to and be inspired by world class professional opera productions.

·Young Artists Program: a 3.5-week training program for masters’ degree level, pre-professional singers during OCM’s spring mainstage production.

·Youth Opera Company of OCM: an array of opportunities for singers in grades 8 and higher, such as afterschool opera scenes workshop programs, audition techniques masterclasses, summer opera camp, and the Project Serenade summer concert series at long-term care residences and community venues.

·Dido and Aeneas Project: a matchless enrichment opportunity funded by a Vermont Arts Council artist-in-schools grant that brings OCM’s expertise into a different Vermont high school each year; OCM’s education director collaborates with the school’s choral director to engage all choral students to create and perform their own unique interpretation of Henry Purcell’s classic opera. The highly successful inaugural project at Burlington High School in January 2022, will be followed by the project’s second installment, at Colchester High School, in January 2024.

“Merging with the Opera Company of Middlebury is thrilling for the teen singers of Youth Opera and for our entire YOC family,” explains Youth Opera Company founder Sarah Cullins. “It’s been incredibly inspiring to brainstorm with OCM Artistic Director Doug Anderson about the new training and performance opportunities we can now create for our young local talent as a unified organization. I have no doubt we will amaze our loyal – and new – audiences!”

Both the Opera Company of Middlebury and the Youth Opera Company share important mission tenets, such as engaging local support, fostering emerging talent, and creating exceptional opera. To help fund these educational programs, OCM has launched an “Invest in the Future of Opera” campaign with a goal of raising $40,000.

In addition to launching Youth Opera initiatives, OCM continues its 20th anniversary season with the Vermont premiere of Glory Denied by Tom Cipullo, running September 27th – October 1st.

For more information, contact OCM’s Administrative Director Allison Steinmetz or visit www.ocmvermont.org.

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