Company teaching artists will share music, stories, and enriching activities
with young people in community spaces throughout the city
HOUSTON—May 1, 2024—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce plans to present a variety of arts programming for students in grades Pre-K-2 throughout Houston this summer. Families are invited to join company teaching artists in spaces including Levy Park, Children’s Museum Houston, and branches of both the Harris County Public Library System and Houston Public Libraries.
“We are delighted to share the joy of storytelling through words and music with young Houstonians in spaces across our boundless city,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “Serving families seeking high-quality art and culture is central to our mission at HGO. As a mom myself, I’m always looking for opportunities for my girls to have fun, interact with their peers, and experience something truly special.”
“The Harris County Public Library is thrilled to partner once again with HGO to offer youth programming as a special part of our 2024 Summer Reading Program,” says Jennifer Schwartz, HCPL Senior Programming Services Manager. “Our collaboration with HGO has allowed us to bring the transformative power of the arts to children, many of whom would not have had access to it otherwise. Studies show that arts and music programs such as those offered by HGO help children to develop and enhance social skills, regulate emotions, and can have a significant impact on academic success. These offerings are among our most popular and anticipated by kids and parents alike.”
The company will be offering two types of programming as part of this initiative. Sing! Move! Play! (SMP) celebrates opera’s greatest hits through action-packed workshops filled with singing, rhythmic movement, and creative play, while sharing music from classic operas. Featured music includes:
- The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s timeless comedy masterpiece
- Neapolitan Songs, favorite Italian art songs
- Carmen, Bizet’s ever-popular opera
- Italian Classics, opera’s greatest hits
Storybook Opera (SBO) brings children’s books to life through song as HGO teaching artists present an engaging and enjoyable introduction to opera for students. Featured books include:
- The Armadillo’s Dream by HGO chorister Dennis Arrowsmith, about an armadillo with opera-star dreams (available in English and Spanish versions)
- The Three Little Pigs, a classic fable
- Opera Cat by Tess Weaver, about a cat and her opera-diva owner
- Bilingual Agua/Agüita and Fuego/Fueguito by Jorge Argueta, about water and the natural world
- Westward Ho, Carlotta! by Candace Fleming, about an opera singer who follows her dreams out West
- Ruby’s Chinese New Year by Vickie Lee, about a girl who gets a gift to her grandmother with help from the animals of the Chinese Zodiac
- Lula the Mighty Griot by former Houston Poet Laureate Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, about a girl who defends her village from ravenous alligators
HGO’s Summer Schedule: Free Programs for Children, Grades Pre-K-2
Levy Park @ 11 a.m.
May 18: SBO/The Armadillo’s Dream
June 1: SBO/The Three Little Pigs
June 8: SMP/The Marriage of Figaro
June 15: SBO/Opera Cat!
June 22: SMP/Neapolitan Songs
July 6: SBO/Bilingual Agua/Agüita and Fuego/Fueguito
July 13: SMP/Carmen
July 20: SBO/Westward Ho, Carlotta!
July 27: SMP/The Magic FluteHarris County Public Library System
June 4 @ 1 p.m.: Barbara Bush Branch Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
June 6 @10 a.m.: Spring Branch-Memorial Branch Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
June 11 @ 1 p.m.: Galena Park Branch Library, SBO/Bilingual Opera Cat!
June 13 @ 2 p.m.: Octavia Fields Branch Library, SMP/Italian Classics
June 17 @ 4 p.m.: Katy Branch Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
June 26 @ 11 a.m.: Evelyn Meador Branch Library, SBO/Westward Ho, Carlotta!
June 25 @ 10:15 a.m.: La Porte Branch Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
July 2 @ 11 a.m.: Aldine Branch Library, SBO/Bilingual Opera Cat!
June 27 @ 2:30 & 3:30 p.m.: Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library, Italian Classics
July 10 @ 3 p.m.: South Houston Branch Library, SBO/Bilingual Agua/Agüita and Fuego/Fueguito
July 1 @ 10 a.m.: West University Branch Library, SMP/Italian Classics
July 8-12 daily @ 1 p.m.: Sing! Move! Play! Camp at Barbara Bush Branch Library—a week of singing, dance, crafting, and more
July 16 @ 10:15 a.m.: Maud Marks Branch Library, SBO/Ruby’s Chinese New Year
July 17 @ 1 p.m.: Katherine Tyra Branch Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
July 17 @ 3 p.m.: North Channel Branch Library, SBO/Bilingual Opera Cat!
July 18 @ 2:30 p.m.: Stratford Branch Library, SMP/The Marriage of Figaro
July 30 @ 10:30 a.m.: Northwest Branch Library, SBO/Westward Ho, Carlotta!
Children’s Museum Houston (paid admission to CMH required)
May 18 @ 4 p.m.: SBO/Ruby’s Chinese New Year
June 23 @ 3 p.m.: SBO/Lula the Mighty Griot
July 21 @ 3 p.m.: SBO/ Bilingual Agua/Agüita and Fuego/Fueguito
Houston Public Libraries
July 9 @ 2 p.m.: Moody Neighborhood Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
July 22 @ 11 a.m.: Oak Forest Neighborhood Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
July 23 @ 2 p.m.: Mancuso Neighborhood Library, SBO/Bilingual Agua/Agüita and Fuego/Fueguito
July 25 @ 3 p.m.: Shannon Walker Neighborhood Library, SMP/The Magic Flute
HGO gratefully acknowledges the company supporters who have helped bring this programming to Houston: ConocoPhillips, H-E-B, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Powell Foundation.
Storybook Opera has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
For more information, visit HGO.org/Community-and-Learning.
PHOTOS: Photos that can be used with coverage of HGO’s free summer programs for children can be found here. Photo credit: Melissa Taylor.
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. General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor assumed leadership of the organization and responsibility for its strategic vision in 2021. HGO was the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2019 International Opera Awards, and the only American company to be nominated twice. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art, to serve the Houston community, and to be a global leader in the future of opera, HGO has led the field in commissioning and producing new works (76 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 and Learning initiative has served as a model for other arts organizations. The company invites all Houstonians to experience superlative opera without the barrier of price 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.