Little Opera To Bring Youth Arts Programming To Grace Cathedral This Fall

This fall, San Francisco students in grades K-8 will have a unique opportunity: they can head to Grace Cathedral after school, and spend the next nine months collaborating on writing and performing their own original opera. The program, Little Opera at Grace, is a new partnership between the arts education organization Little Opera and San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. Programming kicks off on September 9, 2019 and enrollment is open to all interested students. No audition or prior experience is required.

Founded in 2011 by San Francisco playwright and librettist Erin Bregman, Little Opera has spent the last eight years teaching San Francisco youth every part of the opera creation process. Students learn how to write a story, craft a libretto, compose melodies, design costumes, rehearse and perform a 10-20 minute opera that is 100% built from their own imaginations. "We're not just teaching the art forms of writing, composing, singing and acting," says Bregman. "We're also teaching our students about collaboration, and what it means to take on a giant, ambitious project as part of a community."

Grace Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral that welcomes everyone, shares San Francisco's diverse and innovative character and strives to make the city and the world a better place for all. The mission of Grace Cathedral is reimagining church with courage, joy and wonder. The Little Opera program will be offered through Grace's Children, Youth and Family Ministry and the Director of the Ministry, Rev. Mary Carter Greene, said this about the partnership: "Grace believes in the power of art to inspire young people and we want to make art accessible to everyone."

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 originated at West Portal Elementary School, and is moving to Grace Cathedral for its 9th season. Of the move, Bregman says "While we will Miss West Portal School, we couldn't be more excited about partnering with Grace Cathedral. Not only does Grace have a long history of building the type of community we're aiming to serve, they're also a hub of arts in the city. I'm excited for our students to be a part of that."

Enrollment for Little Opera at Grace opens July 1. For more information, go to www.littleopera.org.

Danah's story: From Little Opera to the San Francisco Opera from Little Opera on Vimeo.

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