The Young People’s Opera Project

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New Opera Review Initiative

Gordon Ostrowski, Committee Chair 

Gordon Ostrowski

The Young People’s Opera committee is pleased to announce a new initiative to bring attention to new works being created for young people and to revitalize the Opera for Youth production directory at Opera America.

Starting with its founding in 1977, by Emily Hammood, the Opera for Youth organization solicited and reviewed over 500 operas.  Kal Brackin, the last President of OFY before it ceased operations, arranged for Opera America to house the directory of fact sheets so that individuals and companies would be able to make use of this invaluable resource when looking for works to produce for young people. 

In January 2016, I met with the NOA board of directors and made the following proposal.  In addition, I met with Opera America President Marc Scorca and he wholeheartedly supported my proposal.

The Young People’s Opera Committee will solicit new works for young people for review. Interested composers will follow the guidelines set by the Opera for Youth directory and Opera America for this peer review process.  If a new work is selected for review, the review would be published in NOA Notes and a fact sheet submitted to the Opera for Youth online directory.  Composers must be a member of Opera America to participate and follow these guidelines:

1. A work to be performed for or by young people, with a theme or issue appropriate for that audience. 
2. Certain materials must be available in order to prove that the work is performance-ready: A completed score using standard notation software (Finale, Cakewalk, etc.) or legible handwriting, libretto/lyrics and a synopsis. 
3. A significant portion of the work should be newly composed. Arrangements of old music combined with new lyrics will not be accepted. 
4. The work will be or will have been produced. Proof of performance (a program, production poster, etc.) is required.

Interested composers may submit their materials using the online form or ask for additional information at the following address:  gostrowski@msmnyc.edu.