Life Skills, Music Making, and Billy Bad the Billionaire: Youth Opera Programs with Amy Owens and Charles Gamble

Destination Santa Fe Opera

It’s encore time! After a brief hiatus to appreciate a triumphant 65th summer of opera in the desert, Destination Santa Fe Opera returns with one last conversation to close out this podcast season.

Host Jane Trembley chats with Charles Gamble, SFO’s newly appointed Director of School Programs, and Amy Owens, newly appointed Director Designate of the Young Voices Program about how opera’s inclusive, collaborative storytelling can boost self-esteem and confidence in young people. Charles and Amy also share the paths that led each of them to their current positions, and they provide valuable details regarding the community engagement programs that SFO is involved in, including Opera Storytellers Summer Camp, the Young Voices Program, Active Learning Through Opera (ALTO), and The New Mexico Alliance for Responsive Teaching (NM ART.)

Opera often seems insular and complicated to those unfamiliar with the art form. All the more reason for students to gain exposure to it as soon as possible. “Opera does a remarkable job bringing together every art form,” says Charles, thoroughly smashing opera’s stiff reputation. He is also quick to point out that a student’s first opera might be their last if the introduction isn’t engaging or relatable. “If you consider that each one of the components is actually a point of access rather than focusing on the overwhelming experience, I think that's the way into [opera] for most students.”

Amy agrees. “There’s an infinite well of curiosity, of things to discover through opera, from the super-analytical stuff to the very playful and vulnerable.” She and Charles point to arts education in general and opera exposure specifically as scaffolding for skills-building, lessons that will support students throughout their lives.

Thanks for joining us behind the scenes this season!

Learn more:

School Programs, The Santa Fe Opera

The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera

Opera Storytellers Summer Camp

ALTO: Active Learning Through Opera

FEATURING

Charles Gamble - Director of School Programs, Santa Fe Opera

Amy Owens - Director Designate of the Young Voices Program of the Santa Fe Opera

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CREDITS

Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Hosted by: Jane Trembley

Show Notes by: Lisa Widder

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