Grant Will Provide Scholarships for CLO Summer Opera Institute

New Britain/New London - Connecticut Lyric Opera (CLO) has received an AccelerateCT Summer Enrichment Expansion Grant from the Connecticut State Department of Education, which will provide qualifying teens ages 16 and older with partial and full scholarships for its 2021 Summer Opera Institute. The grant program was designed to help arts and nonprofit organizations throughout Connecticut extend high-quality summer enrichment learning opportunities for youth and teens post-pandemic.

“We are grateful to the Connecticut State Department of Education for awarding us with this grant. After a year where live musical performance was nearly non-existent, and funding for musical education in public schools was limited, it is more important than ever for students to have opportunities to connect with the beauty and focus that music education and performance provides,” said Adrian Sylveen, CLO Artistic Director. “Our Summer Opera Institute cultivates an understanding and appreciation of operatic forms and techniques among a population of predominantly urban high school upperclassmen and college students throughout Connecticut who would otherwise not have the opportunity to sing opera - individually and within an ensemble. This grant ensures that the CLO can provide a powerful musical learning experience for them again this summer.”

Since 2011, CLO, in collaboration with the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, has provided educational workshops in opera vocal performance for Connecticut’s promising young singers through the Summer Opera Institute. The Institute addresses the need for intensive music education for talented and motivated students that is affordable yet rigorous, comprehensive, and provided by world-class instructors. It also contributes to the development of students’ artistic sensitivity and musical skills, which have been proven in numerous studies to be closely linked to academic achievement and future social and economic success.
The Summer Music Institute is open to students ages 16 and older who demonstrate a command of their voice and have the ability to read vocal music. This year’s program will include vocal coaching, language pronunciation training, history of music and composers, staging classes, working with pianists, masterclasses with guest lecturers, and public performances. Internationally-acclaimed instructors interact closely with students – teaching, socializing, and sharing their own performance experiences. This inspirational and indispensable relationship gives students self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment.

Faculty for the 2021 Summer Opera Institute:

• Adrian Sylveen - Conductor, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra; Artistic Director, Connecticut Lyric Opera
• Jūratė Švedaitė - Professor, Connecticut College; Soprano, Connecticut Lyric Opera
• Jan Mason - Stage Director, Central Connecticut State University; Associate Artistic Director, Connecticut Lyric Opera
• Daniel Juárez - Tenor, Connecticut Lyric Opera
• Nathaniel Baker - Piano Coach, University of Rhode Island
• Blake Hansen - Collaborative Pianist-Music, Hartt Community Division at the University of Hartford
• Alex Nakhimovsky - Jazz Pianist and Musical Theater Coach

Guest Lecturers for the 2021 Summer Opera Institute:

• Lynne Strow Piccolo - Mezzo-Soprano; Retired – La Scala Theater (Milan, Italy)
• Steve Fredericks - Bass, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Greve Opera Festival (Italy)
• Thomas Cannon - Baritone, Assistant Professor of Voice, The Hartt School at the University of Hartford

CLO’s Summer Opera Institute will run Monday, July 12, through Friday, July 30. Daily two- and three-week sessions from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. are available (tuition cost: $1,000). All classes will be held at the St. James Episcopal Church in Farmington, Connecticut.
To learn more about the Summer Opera Institute and complete an application, visit http://ctlyricopera.org/2021-clo-summer-opera-institute/. For those seeking partial or full scholarships, please provide information detailing financial needs on the application. Completed applications should be emailed or mailed by Friday, June 18, 2021. Early registration is encouraged.