The Occhiata Foundation brings arts engagement to Monterey County schools through the multi-discipline prism of opera. Our unique interactive program has left students downloading arias from Carmen onto their iPods, discovering that some of their pop heroes like Beyonce sing opera. Students are becoming interested in learning more about careers in the arts.
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Our arts engagement initiative is simple:
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We bring to schools a fun, interactive, multi-media presentation. Included in these presentations are two short videos. One video is a movie style trailer and the other builds a bridge between the things relevant to young students today and the opera. A PowerPoint presentation with video and audio clips is used to bring the story, characters, and themes of the opera alive for students.
- We take students, parents/family and teachers to see a live HD broadcast from the Metropolitan in New York City of an opera at Del Monte Center’s Century Theatre – this includes breakfast snacks and lunch.
We have operated since 2009 in Monterey County steadily growing our program activities on a shoe string budget with lots of sweat equity:
|
Year |
# Schools |
Schools Served |
# of Students |
# Tickets |
|
2009 |
2 |
North Monterey County Middle School Carmel River School |
600 |
40 |
|
2010 |
3 |
Charter Bay School, King City Arts Charter North Monterey County Middle School |
900 |
160 |
|
2011 |
6 |
Fairview Middle School, Fairview High School, Rancho Cielo (Culinary + Star) Martin Luther King, Borondo Meadows North Monterey County Middle School |
1400 |
350 |
|
2012 |
10 |
Fairview Middle School, North Monterey County Middle, University Park, Roosevelt, Main Street Middle School (Soledad), Rancho Cielo, Martin Luther King, Soledad High School, Boronda Meadows, Kamman |
4000 |
500 |
|
2013 |
6 |
Fairview Middle School, Mission Park, Martin Luther King (Seaside), Mission Park, Roosevelt, North Monterey County, Youth Orchestra Salinas (YoSAL) |
1500 |
300 |
| 2014 | 8 | Prunedale Elementary School, Fairview Middle, Mission Park Elementary School, Laurel Wood Elementary School, North Monterey County Middle School, Martin Luther King Elemntary School (Seaside), YoSAL (Jesse Sanchez Elementary School and Los Padres Elementary School), Boys and Girls Club Salinas | 2000 | 250 |
| 2015-16 | 3 | Chalone Peaks Middle School, Soledad High School, Fairview Middle School | 1800 | 150 |
| 2017 | 3 | Soldead High School, Fairview Middle School, North Monterey County Middle School | 1800 | 150 |
WATCH A SHORT VIDEO DOUCMENTARY ABOUT OUR PROGRAM
- Support the shrinking role of the arts in education.
- Provide students a unique arts experience that can become an outlet for creative expression for understanding the dynamics of their lives.
- Allow students to discover new career opportunities for actualizing their gifts and talents.
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Enable students to share a new experience with family/guardians, teachers and the community.
OPPORTUNITIES ADDRESSED BY PROGRAM:
- Through in-school, interactive, multimedia presentations, students are exposed to opera.
- Students are able to experience the power of the arts as an outlet for creative expression for understanding the dynamics of their lives and be exposed to career opportunities in the arts.
- Students share a unique experience with family, guardians, teachers and the community.
- Through the Arts Ambassador* component of the program, motivated students are given an outlet to express themselves artistically, gain additional opera experiences and be exposed to careers in the arts.
* Students are invited to become an Arts Ambassador by their teachers. Students that respond to their Day at the Opera experience by creating any kind of artistic response (i.e. essay, video, creating a new character for the opera, re-writing a scene, painting, photo collage) become applicants. Students are selected for a fully funded day trip to San Francisco to see a live opera.
LESSONS LEARNED & SUSTAINABILITY VISION
Critical to Occhiata’s future and sustainability is operational support. Here are some lessons learned and visions of the future:
- Keep increasing the number of schools and students for the in-school presentation component of the program.
- Cap the number of students at 500 for the Day at the opera.
- Ensure students attend with a parent/guardian/teacher or community volunteer to share the experience.
Rationale: Limiting the Day at the Opera to 500 allows us to maintain a level of intimacy with the students. Much of the program’s magic comes from the hands on energy we are able to give to students because of the size. We have also seen first-hand the power of students sharing the experience with an adult. Requiring students to attend with a guardian/parent/teacher or in cases where it is necessary a volunteer, adult adds a special dimension.
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Implement an Arts Ambassador program. Students are invited to become an Arts Ambassador by their teachers. Students that respond to their Day at the Opera experience by creating any kind of artistic response (i.e. essay, video, creating a new character for the opera, re-writing a scene, painting, photo collage) become applicants.
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Select fifty students from the pool of Arts Ambassador applicants for a fully funded day trip to San Francisco to see a live opera.
- In the 2014-2015 Occhiata Season we want to offer five Arts Ambassadors an opportunity to travel to New York City or some other major opera city to see live opera and meet many of the professionals behind the scenes.
Rationale:The Arts Ambassador program builds commitment, engagement and support. Students gain a creative outlet for life, the arts gain new supporters, and the Occhiata program wins evangelists who will galvanize their peers. We envision fundamentally changing the lives of students and we believe students will discover a career and life path otherwise unavailable to them. It is the potential for this life changing gift, along with the full spectrum of program activities that incites our passion.
WILL YOU CONSIDER GETTING INVOLVED?