Opera Camps start June 8 with unique summer options for students
What: Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco announces four unique summer opera camps designed for specific age groups and experiences, in partnership with American Festival for the Arts (AFA) and special sessions by DACAMERA. All camps are held at Houston Grand Opera located in the Wortham Theater Center. Registration is now open. For grades K – 2, there are options of one-week or two-week sessions, while the camps for grades 3 – 12 are two weeks long.
The camps include:
SING! MOVE! PLAY!
Rising Grades K–2 | 1 Week $300, 2 Weeks $525
Let your wee one wiggle and giggle to opera’s greatest tunes as the stories come to life with fun kinetic learning activities. Campers develop music and motor skills through the early fundamentals of singing and storytelling games. Showcasing DACAMERA teaching artists, this program will use music as a vehicle for engaging lessons in math, science, and language arts.
Week 1: June 8–12
Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Friday, June 12, 9 a.m.–noon
Week 2: June 15–19
Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Friday, June 19, 9 a.m.–noon
CREATE AN OPERA
Rising Grades 3–8 | 2 Weeks $600
Create An Opera in collaboration with AFA is the perfect camp for a mini Mozart or precocious Picasso. Campers collaborate to write, design, build, and perform a one-of-a-kind musical masterpiece based on Tomie de Paola’s award-winning book, Strega Nona. This camp is perfect for singers and non-singers alike. A final staged performance for family and friends concludes this two- week long camp.
2 Weeks: June 8–19
Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Performance on Friday, June 19, at noon
ART OF OPERA
Rising Grades 9–12 | 2 Weeks $600
Join the familiar characters from the land of Oz as they sing arias from famous operas in The Impresario of Oz, HGO’s 69th world premiere opera by Mark Buller and Charles Anthony Silvestri. Campers will enhance their vocal and dramatic skills by rehearsing and performing in this fully-staged production written specifically for performers in grades 9–12.
Register today to join the cast of talented high school students in this year’s production.
2 Weeks: June 15–26
Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Performance on Friday, June 26, at 1:30 p.m.
High school students wishing to be considered for a principal role must audition in April.
AFA’s SING OUT! VOCAL ARTISTS INTENSIVE (presented in collaboration with HGO)
Rising Grades 8-12 | 1 week – $325, plus $35 enrollment fee
A weeklong intensive for high school students committed to studying voice will include solo voice technique, small ensembles, studio voice class, diction, movement, theory, piano skills, song writing, and mock auditions. Register at www.afatexas.org/programs/summer-sing-out-vai
1 Week: July 13–17
Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Who: HGOco connects HGO’s creative resources with our diverse and vibrant community. The “co” in HGOco stands for company, community, and collaboration. HGOco’s innovative and engaging programs take place throughout the Houston area—in schools, parks, community landmarks, alternative performance spaces, and at the Wortham Theater Center, providing a range of opportunities for Houstonians of all ages to explore, engage, and learn through the inspiring art of opera.
When: June 8 – 2
Where: Wortham Theater Center, 510 Preston St., Houston, TX 77002
Tariff: Camps run from $300 to $600. Financial assistance is available, based on need. To learn more, go to https://pages.wordfly.com/houstongrandopera/pages/1-31—HGOco—Opera-Camp-2020-RSVP/.
Photo caption: Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco presents unique summer Opera Camps for students in grades kindergarten through 12th (rising students) from June 8 through June 25 at the Wortham Theater Center. A vocal artists intensive camp for high school students is set for July 13-17. Photos by Lynn Lane and Alisa Magallon.
About Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. HGO is the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2019 International Opera Awards. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art to serve an ever-evolving audience, HGO has led the field in commissioning new works (67 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators.
The company contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and
innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. HGO’s pioneering community engagement initiative, HGOco, has served as a model for other arts organizations.
The NEXUS Initiative is HGO’s multi-year ticket underwriting program that allows Houstonians of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy opera without the barrier of price. Since 2007, NEXUS has enabled more than 250,000 Houstonians to experience superlative opera through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.
HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony, two Grammy awards, and three Emmy awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.