Educational Outreach

Charlottesville Opera has a long-standing commitment to providing free, year-round education opportunities for students and adults of all ages in our community. These range from in-school programs for under-served youth to performance opportunities for young singers and internships for students interested in arts administration.
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We are proud to offer the following educational opportunities. If you would like more information about volunteering or supporting any of these programs, please send an email to info@charlottesvilleopera.org.

MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS

Artist in Residence
Each spring, a Teaching Artist introduces students to Charlottesville Opera's summer opera by exploring the basic elements and structure of opera, as well as the composer, plot, and music of the production. These presentations, which take place in schools and after-school programs throughout the area, are highly interactive, with students singing, dancing, trying on costumes, and reenacting parts of the production. A majority of teachers and schools who have participated include this program in their curriculum each year. 

Internships
Charlottesville Opera offers semester-long internships for college and high school students with an interest and passion for arts administration, orchestra, education, marketing, production. Our interns work directly with leadership staff to receive hands-on experience with the arts. These experiences are tailored to the interests of each individual intern. 

Young Artists and Apprentice Singers
Emerging singers perform in our summer productions, participate in Master Classes taught by professional performers, are mentored by coaches and visiting artists, and present a number of performances throughout the area. 

KidsFest
An activity-filled summer event for participants from Charlottesville Parks and Recreation and Boy and Girls Club, KidsFest is a wonderful opportunity for children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience live opera.  First, an educator travels to day camps to introduce kids to our summer opera, its plot, characters, major themes, and music. The campers then come to The Paramount Theater for a program led by a Teaching Artist, where they have dinner and meet some of the performers before seeing the dress rehearsal of our opera.

Student Dress Rehearsal
A special opportunity for Charlottesville and Albemarle County middle and high school music and drama students, as well as local Girl and Boy Scouts, to attend the dress rehearsal of the summer musical. Information on attending will be made available as the season approaches.