Scene of an ALTO workshop underway at the Santa Fe Opera. Courtesy/SFO
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
The Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is engaging children in New Mexico with music through its Active Learning Though Opera Program (ALTO) among others.
Charles Gamble is SFO’s Director of Community Engagement. He explained that for anyone who hasn’t had a personal experience with opera, the form can feel foreign, exclusive and perhaps snooty.
“With a little experience, though, opera opens to reveal what is both delicate and enduring about being human – it elevates our stories – our greatest desires and deepest fears explored through an immersive and moving experience,” Gamble said. “Because it includes every other art form, if introduced thoughtfully to new initiates, opera also has extraordinary educational power. In the 20+ years I’ve worked at the Santa Fe Opera, one of the things I’m proudest of is the way our school programs use elements of opera to engage students with academic content (and with each other as emerging collaborative artists) through the most cooperative live art form on the planet!”
In the 2023-24 school year, 10 ALTO teaching artists led more than 100 five-session residencies, engaging more than 1,500 students.
“We anticipate a similar level of impact in the 2024-25 school year,” Gamble said.
The SFO Community Engagement Department annually produces around 27 unique free or low-cost programs for students, families and the public that foster a lifelong love of music and audience engagement, even without attending performances. For children ages 3 to 18, the department produces Opera Makes Sense, Opera Storytellers, the Young Voices and Young Technicians programs and Active Learning Through Opera (ALTO). Programs that engage children and families include Family Nights, Youth Nights, the Pueblo Opera Program and Opera in the Park (presented most recently Sept. 15 with a free screening of THE ELIXIR OF LOVE at Santa Fe’s Railyard Park).
These programs serve an estimated 55,000 New Mexicans annually.
Enterprise Bank & Trust is a strong supporter of The Santa Fe Opera and its initiatives to bring music to area children.
“The Santa Fe Opera has been a leader in creating opportunities for our children to experience music, storytelling, costuming, and set design first hand,” Enterprise Bank & Trust Regional President Liddie Martinez said. “Our kids blossom through arts integration gaining the critical tools that allow for creative expression. Enterprise Bank is proud to partner with The Santa Fe Opera in serving and supporting our kids in New Mexico.”
The Santa Fe Opera has a range of programs that aim to connect with New Mexico youth from preK to high school and college. Each of the programs is built to engage and transform young people.
“Liddie Martinez is a champion of the fact that opera changes lives. She appreciates the art form as an artistic experience AND understands how transformative it can be for children in a state that has a lot of challenges for kids and families,” Gamble said. “Liddie’s positivity and ‘We can do this together!’ attitude absolutely aligns with the ethos at the Santa Fe Opera and is of course reflected in the extraordinary work she initiates at Enterprise Bank & Trust. I find Liddie inspiring and feel very fortunate to be in her circle.”
SFO Programs For Youth:
Opera Makes Sense – a program for 3-5 year olds and their families, high school vocalists who are part of the Young Voices program read stories and share related songs, adding a musical dimension to beloved children’s literature.
The Active Learning Though Opera Program (ALTO) – Student Produced Opera – elementary and middle school students in Rio Rancho Public schools work with a composing artist and a theater artist after school over 14 weeks to create an original 10 minute opera based on the Hero’s Journey.
ALTO Arts Integration – SFO teaching artists have developed a range of arts integrated residencies that support preK – high school students to make a meaningful connection between an aspect of opera (including music, dance, theater, visual arts and poetry) and an academic topic. Students then create original artwork that demonstrates their understanding of the academic topic. This program is most active in Santa Fe and Albuquerque public schools, though we did have some projects in Los Alamos (at Mountain Elementary) before the pandemic.
Opera Storytellers – a week-long spring break and summer intensive that, like ALTO Student Produced Opera, supports 3rd-6th graders as they create original operas based on the hero’s journey in five days flat!
The Young Voices Program – For high school students, this program was created 2008 to encourage, nurture and guide high school students exhibiting talent, desire and potential for singing classical music. Program participants receive voice lessons and musical coaching by the Santa Fe Opera’s music staff as well as training in diction, music theory and basic acting.
The History of ALTO
ALTO began in 1993 as a student-produced opera program, sending teaching artists to collaborate with teachers and students statewide to create, rehearse and perform original operas. Students engaged with an evolving spiral of challenges fueled by the delight of crafting an original story and sharing that story with families and students from other schools. This foundational model remains an integral component of ALTO. ALTO has since worked with 2,500+ students on 180+ student-produced opera projects across New Mexico.
In 2010, ALTO entered a formal alliance with public school districts in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and Los Lunas to foster arts-integrated teaching in all four districts. In 2012, the Kennedy Center’s prestigious Partners in Education program, which helps arts organizations develop and expand educational partnerships with local school districts, accepted the Santa Fe Opera as the first and only opera company to participate. In 2013 and 2014, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities recognized ALTO as one of the 50 most exceptional learning programs for young people in the arts and humanities.
During the pandemic, ALTO worked remotely with students at 10 schools in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque, writing, rehearsing and recording original pieces. The work movingly expressed the anxieties and resilience of these young artists. With new research in neurobiology and education informing changes to best practices, ALTO continues to evolve.
About The Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera annually draws 85,000 people from New Mexico and around the globe. Nestled atop a mountain vista in northern New Mexico, the company’s iconic Crosby Theatre is open on three sides, allowing visitors to enjoy performances complemented by the elements. Since 1957 the company has presented over 2,000 performances of 179 operas by 91 composers spanning five centuries of opera, creating a legacy of 45 American premieres and 18 world premieres. In November 2022, the company was recognized as “Festival of the Year” at the International Opera Awards.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at the Santa Fe Opera — Opera has the power to speak truth, broaden perspectives and invite empathy. The Santa Fe Opera is committed to the continuous work of becoming an antiracist and anti-oppressive organization and incorporating the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Our goal is to create a joyful and engaging environment in which a diverse community of artists, staff, volunteers and audiences alike belong.
The mission of the Santa Fe Opera is to advance the operatic art form by presenting ensemble performances of the highest quality in a unique setting with a varied repertory of new, rarely performed, and standard works; to ensure the excellence of opera’s future through apprentice programs for singers, technicians and arts administrators; and to foster an understanding and appreciation of opera among a diverse public. Learn more at www.santafeopera.org.