Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

Teen-powered opera

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Giving Tuesday: Thank You!

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What a whirlwind yesterday was for us! We began with pure elation, thanks to the kindness and generosity of the luminous Joyce DiDonato, whose Monday evening pep talk for our teens sent us to the moon and back, ready to launch our campaign with verve. That was followed up by a spectacular day of giving, in which we raised a total of $3160.00, the single biggest fundraising day in our tiny workshop’s history.

We would like to express our most sincere and humble gratitude to Joyce, and to everyone who supported us through the day by joining our Facebook event, sharing, liking, and retweeting our posts, leaving us words of encouragement, and of course to those who gave so generously to help keep our program going and our teens singing. We are in your debt, and we will do everything we can to deliver in the form of beautiful music and ecstatic teen faces. I have no doubt that our students will leave our program, go out into the world, and make it a better, more compassionate, and more beautiful place, through music or whatever they end up ultimately pursuing. Your investment in them will not be in vain.

On that note, I wanted to add that for me, personally, one of the most gratifying things about the day was watching and listening to my own teens talk about the program and what it’s meant to them. I’d be lying if I pretended that I didn’t know they are enjoying themselves in the opera workshop, but I spent much of the day with tears in my eyes, listening to my own students talk about the work we’ve come to think of as routine at our studio. I was also extremely moved by the 11th-hour video contribution from my friend, Emilie Renard, whose thoughtful (and thorough!) discussion of our work and why she has supported us so consistently over the past few years basically validated all the work I love most dearly in the span of seven minutes.

Thank you, all of you, for your generosity and your belief in what we’re doing at Act Too Studio Opera Workshop. It means the world to us, and we will work to give back in all the beauty we can muster.

Read more #GivingTuesday stories ~ View our Facebook Event ~ Donate to Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

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Emilie Renard on Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

As #GivingTuesday races to a close, we’ve received this thoughtful video from British mezzo-soprano Emilie Renard, a long-time friend and supporter of the workshop. She’s always been very enthusiastic about what we’re doing, but it’s quite wonderful to hear her talk about it in such detail, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t gratifying.

Please give her a few minutes to make this pitch in favor of our program, and consider supporting us before #GivingTuesday is done, or really any time in the future. We’re hungry for your support. A million thanks to Emilie for taking the time to speak up for us in this way. And while you’re at it, start following her career very carefully, because she’s pretty spectacular.

Read more #GivingTuesday stories ~ Join our Facebook Event ~ Donate to Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

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Teen Opera on GivingTuesday!

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#GivingTuesday is HERE, and I’d like to ask that you consider including Act Too Studio Opera Workshop in your year-end giving! Now in its third year, the workshop has grown from a week-long intensive into a year-long, student-driven entity, and we couldn’t be prouder of our opera-obsessed teens!

We’ve got an exciting day planned at our virtual Facebook Event, with more personal stories on the way from our teens as the day goes on. Even Joyce DiDonato stopped by to wish our students luck and let them know how awesome they are!

Read all about our teen Opera Workshop here, including an in-depth video about the workshop. Or check out our 3-minute “flash trailer” below!

While the arts have become increasingly a luxury item available only to the wealthy, we at Act Too Studio are intensely dedicated to making our Opera Workshop programming accessible to all our teens. To that end, we are tasked with seeking funding through local businesses and individual donors. In the early half of 2015, we raised nearly $8000 to fund our spring and summer programming. For 2016, we must raise even more. Please consider us TODAY, #GivingTuesday!

falogoYou can donate by credit card online here:
Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

If you prefer, you can also donate by check. Checks should be made payable to Fractured Atlas, with “Act Too Studio Opera Workshop” in the memo line. Please contact us for our mailing address.

Follow our progress this #GivingTuesday on Facebook and Twitter and help us spread the word! While you’re at it, check out these other great causes!

Act Too Studio Opera Workshop is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non‐profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Act Too Studio Opera Workshop must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Read more #GivingTuesday stories ~ Join our Facebook Event ~ Donate to Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

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Our GivingTuesday Pep Talk from Joyce DiDonato!

My teens and I had a pretty incredible experience yesterday, as their idol (and mine, if we’re being honest), opera singer and teacher extraordinaire Joyce DiDonato, stopped by the ATS Opera Workshop Facebook page to leave us this video, offering the kids praise and encouragement going into their #GivingTuesday fundraiser today. Here’s the video that had them screaming and crying in their private Facebook group for at least a couple of hours:

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Good luck tomorrow!!!

Posted by Joyce DiDonato on Monday, November 30, 2015

What a generous and inspiring lady! We were all so moved that she would take the time for us in this way. If you have opera teens of your own, make sure they know about Joyce’s new newsletter for teens, Opera Rocks.

Now, #GivingTuesday is upon us! Please helps us raise the “obscene amount of money” Joyce has encouraged us towards!

falogoYou can donate by credit card online here:
Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

If you prefer, you can also donate by check. Checks should be made payable to Fractured Atlas, with “Act Too Studio Opera Workshop” in the memo line. Please contact us for our mailing address.

Follow our progress this #GivingTuesday on Facebook and Twitter and help us spread the word! While you’re at it, check out these other great causes!

Matching? Did you know that many companies match donations from employees to nonprofit causes? That means your donation can go twice as far! From now until December 15th, 2015 you can go to doublethedonation.com to find out if your company will match your donation. Just type in your employer’s name and access the appropriate matching gift forms, guidelines, and submission instructions.

Act Too Studio Opera Workshop is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non‐profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Act Too Studio Opera Workshop must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Read more #GivingTuesday stories ~ Join our Facebook Event ~ Donate to Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

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Giving Tuesday: Teen Opera!

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As #GivingTuesday approaches, I’d like to ask that you consider including Act Too Studio Opera Workshop in your year-end giving! Now in its third year, the workshop has grown from a week-long intensive into a year-long, student-driven entity, and it’s honestly been a wonder to behold.

Not only have our teens learned to love opera, but they are constantly impressing me with their own brilliance as interpretive artists. As we begin work on 2016’s summer Monteverdi project, students have already become intimately involved in the creative process, brainstorming ideas for the new narrative we’re constructing, providing feedback on English adaptations, offering up costume concepts, discussing their characters, and analyzing the music and text. When I watch these students in action, I’m absolutely floored.

Meanwhile, the passion for classical singing has exploded studio-wide. In a recent lesson with a not-quite-13-year-old student, I had the pleasure of listening to her explain to me how the accompaniment to a standard Italian aria supports the text. This ability to think deeply about music not only advances our young singers as artists, but also advances their humanity, as they strive more and more urgently towards real understanding of the human condition through the minds and hearts of some of our species’ finest storytellers.

In an era when the arts have become increasingly a luxury item available only to those with considerable financial resources, we at Act Too Studio are intensely dedicated to making our Opera Workshop programming accessible to all our teens. To that end, we are tasked with seeking funding through local businesses and individual donors. In the early half of 2015, we raised nearly $8000 to fund our spring and summer programming. For 2016, we must raise even more. Please consider us this #GivingTuesday!

falogoYou can donate by credit card online here:
Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

If you prefer, you can also donate by check. Checks should be made payable to Fractured Atlas, with “Act Too Studio Opera Workshop” in the memo line. Please contact us for our mailing address.

Follow our progress this #GivingTuesday on Facebook and Twitter and help us spread the word! While you’re at it, check out these other great causes!

Matching? Did you know that many companies match donations from employees to nonprofit causes? That means your donation can go twice as far! From now until December 15th, 2015 you can go to doublethedonation.com to find out if your company will match your donation. Just type in your employer’s name and access the appropriate matching gift forms, guidelines, and submission instructions.

Act Too Studio Opera Workshop is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non‐profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Act Too Studio Opera Workshop must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Read more #GivingTuesday stories ~ Join our Facebook Event ~ Donate to Act Too Studio Opera Workshop

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