Production on our youth opera project, The Language of Birds, is in full swing. The cast and chorus have been selected, and the leads are rehearsing with our Music and Stage Directors now and throughout Winter Break, with full cast rehearsals beginning January 3.
On Saturday, December 13, the leads had the privilege of a special Master Class by international opera star, Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet. Members of the cast also performed at the SF Railyard’s first annual Winter Holiday Fair on December 21.
This is an innovative collaboration between a performing arts organization, the public schools, and the community at-large. Young singers from four Central and Northern New Mexico counties, seven cities and towns, and over 17 schools, comprise the cast. In addition to the cast roles, hundreds of other local kids are involved in the production: Eighty students from Turquoise Trail Charter School are creating paintings and bird-themed artwork that will be digitally animated, and used as the scenic backdrop for the performances; an additional group of Pre-K children will participate as non-singing “supers,” making appearances onstage as baby birds and other wee creatures.
Singers from the Desert Chorale Children’s Choir of Santa Fe will also be members of the cast. Finally, classrooms and educators statewide can share examples of how they are using a “bird theme” to enhance their classroom curricula, reading lists, art and science projects, etc., though the SFNM Bird Blog, which is funded in part by the LANL Foundation.
Of the 2,500 audience members anticipated for the March 27-29, four-performance run, 900 will be under age 18 and 1,000 will be ethnic minority. Indirectly, the project will reach thousands of New Mexico kids through materials dissemination, and the blog.
This opera was commissioned by the Sarasota Opera in 2004 and featured at the 2004 “Opera America” conference. It is a tale about how, through compassion and love of nature, the lead character acquires “the language of birds,” and is able to save the kingdom and its people from doom. The lesson: heed nature’s wisdom.
The composer, SFNM’s own John Kennedy, has altered the original score, to include birds that are indigenous to New Mexico, such as mountain jays and other local avian friends. Also, the plot now has a 21st century “girl power” twist from the original story, with the traditional tale of a merchant and his two sons being changed to that of a merchant and his two daughters. Character names have also been changed to refer to creatures from nature and to add international flair.
Participation in this exciting youth opera is being offered TUITION-FREE to ensure equal access for any child who chose to participate. Santa Fe New Music seeks the support of cast families and other members of the community in supporting this project, as volunteers, and also through fundraising efforts.
A World-Class Artistic Team
The artistic leadership for this project is deeply experienced at the highest levels of the international opera scene, and led by SFNM's Artistic Director John Kennedy, a composer and conductor who is considered one of our leading advocates in contemporary classical music.
Making Art Kids Relate To
When he was commissioned by the Sarasota Opera in 2003, John Kennedy sought a children’s story that was sophisticated enough for all ages, but also had overarching themes of personal growth and community transformation. “In The Language of Birds, I found a tale that is easy for children to recognize, with a simple lesson that we can all be transformed by the gifts we receive from each other—and most of all, that wisdom can come from the most unlikely of voices, including birds.”
Worthy of mention: many of the musical themes were derived from actual birdsong. Also, Kennedy has adapted the original score slightly for the New Mexico staging, to include birds that are more indigenous to New Mexico. Look for Mountain Jays and other local avian friends in the cast!
This Program and SFNM’s Mission
It is crucial for arts organizations to find tools that directly impact lives. Community and youth projects like these are a key component of Santa Fe New Music’s work to demystify the music of our time and bring performance and living art to people across ages and demographic boundaries. Through the longstanding collaborative partnership with organizations such as the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe
Desert Chorale, and others; the goodwill and respect we enjoy from the artist and creative community; the expansion and diversity of our devoted audience base, and our personal commitment to children and education; we are confident in assuming the lead role of this youth opera initiative.
Help Make it Happen!
A community project like this can change young lives, and influence parents, siblings, classmates, and friends alike — while creating a celebratory community event that will give us all something to be very happy about and proud of. Production costs dictate that $500 per cast member be raised through fundraising efforts. Cast parents are involved in several ways to support the project, including in community fundraising. However, SFNM needs additional foundation, corporate, and individual support for this project.
Kids need to be as “recession-proof” as we can manage, and especially now, we need to do what we can to invest in youth cultural opportunities, because these provide an enormous “return” to each individual who is touched by artistic expression.
Santa Fe New Music welcomes the involvement and financial support of the community in bringing this wonderful experience to our children and families!
Please make a tax -deductible contribution to help us realize this ambitious project!
