Winter Performance

Come see Sarasota Youth Opera's final performance of 2009! The concert will be taking place at the Unity Church of Sarasota at 5:00 PM on December 12, 2009. This program will include selections from both American and international opera repertoire. Following the concert, there will be a reception.

The Unity Church can be found at:
3023 Proctor Road
Sarasota, FL 34231

Divas and Dudes 5k

Below are some of the photos from the 'Divas and Dudes 5k', which featured 153 runners! The event took place on November 14, 2009 at Payne Park in Sarasota to benefit the Sarasota Youth Opera. Even our very own Maestro Lance Inouye participated.

Youth Opera Winter Festival Cast Members!

The following Youth Opera Members have received roles on the Sarasota Opera Stage for the 2010 Winter Season:

Hansel and Gretel
Alexander Grubbs
Andrea Sorondo
Bianca Sumter
Campbell Thomas
Dara Messenger
Devin Bradbury
Elizabeth Davis
Grace Meringer
Jared Gracia-David
Juliana Laney
Karis Powell
KC Herbert
Khaleelah Elhajoui
Laura Grace Whitehouse
Mackenzie Martin
Marta Hognestad
Meike Wittman
Olivia Perry
Olivia Pfeiffer
Olyanna Koniszczuk
Skyler Stahlmann
Tiffany Cupo
Elizabeth Devitt
Caroline Pfeiffer
Katherine Morgan Powell

Pagliacci (Supers in Cav/ 10 singers in Pag)
Alexandra Ladyzhensky
Cami McLean
Deborah Harding
Emily Hayes
Kaitlyn Miller
Kelly Hatton
Khaleelah Elhajoui
Yvonne Ross
Abby Highland
Jackie Stotler

Cavalleria rusticana Off-Stage Singers
Jasper Fox
James Taylor

The Magic Flute
Amanda Capps
Mary Akemon
Maria Elena Arrate


The Magic Flute Animal Supers
Gabrielle Gillard
Lily Walker

Giovanna d'Arco Supers
Robbie Eginton
Courtney Fults
Alex Koutelias
Kali-Ray Skinner

Congratulations to you all!

Divas & Dudes 5k, Saturday, November 14

Tomorrow - Divas & Dudes 5K - Payne Park - 8 a.m. You can still sign up at the field starting at 7 a.m.!

Youth Opera Members bring your friend and family members

Youth Opera members - don't forget!
Tuesday, November 3 is bring a Friend/Family Member Career Day
at 4:45 p.m. in the Peterson Room at Sarasota Opera House.
There will be performances by some of the Opera's Apprentice Artists and a Q & A session, followed by a pizza party.

Music in the Park

Sarasota Youth Opera singers did a great job entertaining those who attended the Gulfcoast Songfest at Payne Park on October 10, despite the sweltering heat. Bravi tutti!

Verdi's Birthday

Tomorrow, October 10, 2009 is the 196th birthday of Giuseppe Fortunino Franceso Verdi. One of opera's most beloved and celebrated composers, Verdi wrote 37 Operas in his lifetime, including Oberto, Nabucco, I due Foscari, Attila, Macbeth, La Traviata, Aida, Don Carlos, and Otello. This year's Sarasota Opera season includes performances of La Traviata and Giovanna d'Arco (Joan of Arc). In Giovanna d'Arco, specifically, some of the Youth Opera's own members will be on stage performing!

Getting ready to perform!

Sixty-seven Youth Opera members are preparing for a performance at the Gulf Coast Songfest on October 10 as well as a performance at Sarasota Opera’s Open House on October 15.
They are learning music from operas like Hansel and Gretel and Pagliacci, as well as the music of composers Copland and Donizetti.
We are still accepting members (until Sept. 30). Call 366-8450, ext. 249, for more information!

Were you there?

Were you there? Sarasota Youth Opera enrolled about 90 young singers on August 26. The first day for returning and new members included warm-ups, a tour of the theater and costume shop, and a pizza party! There is still time to join. Call (941) 366-8450, ext. 0 to enroll.

Representatives of Sarasota Youth Opera, including administrative staff and a few Youth Opera members, will be available to meet you at the local homeschool support group's annual Education Expo, Saturday, August 22, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Meadowland Worship Center, 5317 Fruitville Road, PMB 157, Sarasota, FL 34232. This event is open to the public and targets homeschoolers and all educators in Sarasota and Manatee counties. See you there!

Come One - Come All!

Next week is a big week for most of us.
Not only is the school year beginning, BUT once again, it is time for Sarasota Youth Opera.
We're planning some new activities for our first three "placement" sessions, including a backstage tour and a pizza party! So bring your friends - we hope that once they stand on the Opera House Stage as well as listen to our returning members sing, they'll want to join, too.
Please don't forget to call (941) 366-8450, ext. 0 to sign up. (We'd like to make sure we have enough pizza to go around). Placement classes are on August 26, 27 and 28, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. with a parent meeting on August 26 at 6:30 p.m.

More News from Russia!

Dear Youth Opera members, family, and friends:

Just wanted to drop you a line to say hello from the white nights of St. Petersburg, Russia. It stays light here until past midnight and gets bright again around 4 am. I am working with some fantastic Russian opera singers from the Mariinsky Theater-Kirov Opera here and also getting some good ideas for some new repertoire! I have a feeling we'll be doing some more of that Russian stuff! I'm sure you'll love it!
In a few short weeks, we'll be starting our season and I am looking forward to seeing you all at the first day of placement classes on Aug. 26. This year our first day will be a little different than in the the past. One big difference is that we will have pizza on that day! See you all soon!

Maestro Inouye

From Russia with Love...

Maestro Lance Inouye, Music Director of Sarasota Youth Opera, is working in Russia right now, but he is also focused on the beginning of our Fall program, August 26. Here is a message he sent just before he left:

Dear Youth Opera members and friends,

I am back in beautiful Sarasota, back at the opera house! More preparations are underway as our 2009-2010 season approaches. We are excited to announce that our very own YO production will be The Black Spider by British composer Judith Weir. Ms. Weir is a fabulous composer currently living in London. Her music has been performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the English National Opera, among others. She has written several operas and we are excited to be performing her first opera, The Black Spider.
In a couple of days, I am leaving again for Russia where I will be working with some great Russian singers. I look forward to emailing you updates from there!
Until then, enjoy summer, and keep listening to good music either live or on your ipods, iphones, itouches, radios, cd players, or wherever else it may come from!

Maestro Inouye

Enroll NOW for the Fall Season!

Do you or any young people you know like to sing? Anyone aged 8-18 may enroll now in Sarasota Youth Opera.
During the fall and winter, Youth Opera will perform in outreach concerts throughout the community as well as at Sarasota Opera. And this year, singers will be eligible to audition for 42 singing and 12 non-singing children’s roles in Sarasota Opera’s Winter Opera Festival. Last year twelve young singers performed in Tosca.
In May, all members of Sarasota Youth Opera will perform in a fully staged opera with orchestra, Judith Weir’s The Black Spider, on the stage of the William E. Schmidt Opera Theater in the Sarasota Opera House.
Placement Classes are Aug. 26, 27, and 28. Those joining should attend. Call (941) 366-8450, ext. 0 to enroll or for more information.

Sarasota Youth Opera on Public TV

Here's the link to A Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins. It's a half-hour program. Sarasota Youth Opera's segment is the last of the three in the show - at 16:46 on the counter. Enjoy!



http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1529569332?bclid=1532914250&bctid=27951897001

We're THAT good!

A piece on Sarasota Youth Opera is airing Thursday, June 25 on WEDU TV in Tampa (channel 3) on A Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins. "Tenor Moments" will highlight recent Sarasota Youth Opera "graduate" Kyle Gee, who will attend The Juilliard School on scholarship this August and the unique program that helped him get there. The show will repeat on Sunday, June 28 at 2 p.m. In July, you can see it by visiting http://www.wedu.org/, click on A Gulf Journal with Jack Perkins and follow the links to the video. Make sure you keep up with all the Sarasota Youth Opera news by bookmarking http://www.sarasotaopera.org/educationandoutreach/youthopera.aspx
There is nothing quite like Sarasota Youth Opera!

Pizza Party!

Youth Opera members who were Supers (extras) during Sarasota Opera's Winter Festival season were treated to a pizza party in the Opera's Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt Courtyard last week. There were lots of laughs and good food for all!

Members of the Sarasota Youth Opera Advanced Chorus are getting ready to take their show on the road! On April 21 a group of about 35 singers will perform for at least 700 students at Booker Middle and Pine View schools in Sarasota; and Southeast VPA High School and Samoset Elementary School in Manatee. We're hoping to interest some of the community's young people to participate in this fun program, which is open to anyone age 8 and up! For more information, email us at youthopera@sarasotaopera.org or call (941) 366-8450, ext. 0.