Opera.ca and the Banff Centre Present the fourth bi-annual Banff Opera Colloquium
Opera.ca and The Banff Centre have joined forces once again to present the Banff Opera Colloquium, a professional development weekend for Professional Company members, August 19-21.
The theme of this year’s colloquium is Leadership in a Changed World and will bring together opera general directors, income and outreach managers, and board members who are interested in affecting change for their companies and forming a practical response to the social, economic, and technological challenges that face us all. The colloquium will provide a framework or lens through which to view issues and challenges and introduce concepts such as Complexity, the Adaptive Cycle, and Resilience, and deliver ways to integrate these concepts for organizational and sectoral change.
Confirmed speakers for the Banff Opera Colloquium are Marc Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America and Mark Robinson who will be making his first North American keynote presentation Making Adaptive Resilience Real. Using a theory of systems and organizational change, (the Adaptive Cycle), Mark Robinson defines eight surprisingly practical characteristics of resilient arts organizations that we will use to measure our resilience organizationally and sectorally. Later that day, Marc Scorca will challenge delegates to examine the individual or personal qualities required for leading organizational change.
The colloquium will also feature a session for Board members of opera companies, a special Trustee Breakfast facilitated by Marc Scorca on August 21.
For more information on the Colloquium, visit our website.
Culture Days Self-Promo Tools
One of the benefits of registering a Culture Days activity, and registering your activity early on in the campaign, is the access to free marketing and promotional tools that will help you make the best of your Culture Days 2011 experience!
Check out the “Promote Your Activity” page on the web site to download some of the initial marketing items that are now available
If you haven’t registered yet, there is still time to do so here.
Focus on Canadian Opera Creation
Guidelines for the Canadian Opera Creation Fund 2011/12 will be available on our website by the week of July 25th. Deadlines will be announced in July.
If you are planning on submitting an application or have any questions about this year’s program, please contact us at (416) 591-7222.
Don’t forget that Queen of Puddings Music Theatre’s SVADBA – Wedding (Ana Sokolovic) has its world premiere on June 24 and runs until July 2 at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto.
OPERA America News
New Resource: Career Guide for Opera
Visit OPERA America's new resource, the Career Guide for Opera, which provides a wealth of information for emerging professionals. Through hundreds of podcasts, videos and articles featuring opera experts, and over 1,000 career listings, the Career Guide for Opera explores topics such as audition and role preparation, career fundamentals, creating new works, marketing and fundraising, networking and training programs.
The Career Guide for Opera is a benefit of Opera.ca membership, which starts at just $30. Visit opera.ca/mem today.
Member News
For the first time in the history of its Ensemble Studio, the Canadian Opera Company will be making the final round of auditions public through the launch of an annual vocal competition. The competition takes place on Nov. 28, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts with the winners competing for highly-prized positions in the 2012/2013 Ensemble Studio.
The nominees for the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts' Dora Mavor Moore Awards have been released and the Canadian Opera Company and its artists are nominated multiple times in three categories: Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance. See all of the details here.
People
Opera.ca welcomes this year’s Summer Experience Program student Brandon Sousa who joins us for 7 weeks as Research Assistant. Brandon is a recent graduate of the University of Western Ontario in Media, Information and Technoculture and will be returning to school in September to pursue post-graduate diploma in Public Relations at Humber College.
Brandon will be working on a number of projects including culling important statistics on the sector from the Professional Opera Survey to bolster our various advocacy submissions, such as the Opera Fact Sheet and our Pre-budget submission to the Standing Committee on Finance.
Brandon gained fame during Federal Election 2011 for his viral video “Vote Day” (based on Rebecca Black’s “Friday”) encouraging students to get out and vote. .
Calgary Opera has announced the appointment of Bonni Baynton Sprague as its new Director of Production.
The Canadian Opera Company has welcomed two new singers, soprano Mireille Asselin and bass-baritone Philippe Sly to its 2011/2012 Ensemble Studio. Also joining the studio are two intern coaches, pianists Jenna Douglas and Timothy Cheung.
Of Note
The Canada Cultural Investment Fund (CCIF) launches a new call for proposals for its Strategic Initiatives component. Arts and heritage organizations now have until October 3, 2011 to submit proposals for projects with activities starting after October 1, 2012.
Since 2010-2011, Strategic Initiatives, one of the four components of the CCIF, has provided not-for-profit cultural organizations with financial support to help them become better rooted in their communities. These projects are intended to help them to be better equipped with tools to strengthen their management abilities, harness new technologies and diversify their revenues.
For more information on the component's objectives, eligibility criteria and forms, please visit pch.gc.ca or contact a CCIF program officer at 1-866-811-0055 or at fcic-ccif@pch.gc.ca.