Utah children create opera in their classrooms
All learning takes place on the edge of risk.
Susan Ames, the education director at the Utah Festival Opera Company, said if you want to teach children, you must be willing to risk. One of the dreams of Michael Ballam, the founder of the program, was to make sure children were exposed to opera and art at an early age, Ames said. Ballam created Opera for Children by Children to fulfill that dream. Five years ago, the UFOC made it possible for teachers to use the program in their classrooms.
“People learn differently, and those who need the arts to succeed are lost in the crowd when arts are eliminated from schools,” Ames said.
She said the value of the arts cannot be tested, so it is eliminated from school systems because it is so subjective. This program can save children who would otherwise be lost in the education system, she said.
The program encourages children to be creative. Children learn at a very early age to give the answers the teachers want. Opera for Children by Children does not ask for that, she said.
“Creative thinking has been eliminated by the public school system, and we have been cheated out of our own creative thoughts. We must not lose our creativity. This program will teach children that it is OK to be unique and creative,” Ames said.
Pam Gee, education and outreach manager for the Cache Valley Center for the Arts, said drama, script, tech, set and music specialists are sent to the schools to help the students produce an opera.
The script specialist will turn the children’s story into an opera script, then the music specialist will take the children’s melodies and words and help them find the right meter, intensity, accompaniment and volume for the piece. Drama specialists will help coach the children with correct stage behavior, but the children create their own blocking. They also help with set design and costumes. The program reaches students from kindergarten through high school.
“We don’t focus on making a fabulous opera, we focus on these fabulous children who created the opera.” Ames said.
Students at Utah State University can take Music 4930 and help with this effort to bring arts to children. David Sidwell, educational consultant for the USU theater department, said almost every elementary school in Cache Valley is involved in Opera for Children by Children, and 81 classrooms are involved statewide. The students at USU assist the children with their productions.
“[The students] are suddenly learning about how to inspire, manage and organize. It is a practical, wonderful service. I wish that more students going into theater and elementary education would participate in this program,” Sidwell said.
Ames said, “This program enables children to write their own story and receive positive feedback. They are not led, but guided. Children learn that they don’t have to be afraid to be creative.”
Ames said children learn they can step out of their comfort zones and trust themselves.
“The people that succeed in life are the ones that take the risks. That person has enough self-confidence to know that they can succeed,” Ames said.
Sidwell said, “We learn English, not so we can become great writers, but because we use writing every day in our lives. We learn math not to become great mathematicians, but because we use it every day. We should learn drama and music and the other arts because it teaches life skills that we use every day. Opera for Children by Children is one of the most streamlined and effective programs I have seen for teachers, [university] students and children.”
In the past five years, students and teachers have produced 5,000 operas through the program. Ames said the program will be involved in 3,000 or more productions this year.
“It is a wonderful way for a classroom to gain sense of community. We see wonderful results with the children – in their grades and behavior. They learn how to share and solve a problem. They learn how to respect each other. They learn to solve much better and are willing to risk and learn more. They gain self-confidence. They learn that they can do things by themselves. They work very hard and are proud of the work they do,” Ames said.
Sidwell said, “The program is turning these children into really choice, well-balanced people. They know how to communicate and help each other. That is very important.”
– kassrobison@cc.usu.edu
“Hiccups for elephant” is performed by students in Kathy Jenson´s Garland Elementary School class. (Utah Festival Opera photo)
Members of Brooke Stoker´s Hillcrest Elementary class perform “King Bidgood´s in the Bathtub.” (Utah Festival Opera photo)