The Art of Collaboration
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
The Art of Collaboration
Written by Brian Asher Alhadeff, Opera San Luis Obispo General and Artistic Director
In May 2019, Opera San Luis Obispo presented the first annual Countywide Gala Extraordinaire - an extraordinary collaboration of professionals, local arts organizations and school groups performing famous selections of music and dance accompanied by the OperaSLO Grand Orchestra.
In addition to being a wonderfully entertaining afternoon of music and dance, the mission of the event was to promote learning by facilitating students working alongside professional artists in an inspiring, professional setting.
The Countywide Gala Extraordinaire featured student artists from throughout the county working with Movement Arts Center, Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo, Opera SLO Resident Artists Holly Banfield, Alba Franco Cancel, and Amy Goymerac, in addition to students from school dance, choral, and instrumental programs.
The Gala is a fabulous example of local organizations partnering with education to enhance arts experiences for students. Believe me, the students loved the opportunity and were absolutely thrilled and inspired to perform in the world-class Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo!
We believe in this collaboration and the benefits it brings to our local students. On that note, here is an excerpt from a recent article written by Dr. James Brescia, Superintendent of San Luis Obispo County Schools:
“San Luis Obispo County is fortunate to have growing Arts Partnerships for many of our schools, districts, and communities. These partnerships acknowledge four profound leadership impacts. Involvement in the arts helps us quiet the mind and puts us in touch with inner wisdom. The arts create bonding experiences that facilitate collaboration, and accelerate the ability to get to the root causes of an issue.
Arts-based activities can be used strategically to create safety, build trust, find shared values, and shift perceptions. Finally, arts-based learning, along with whole-brain creativity and design thinking, is shown to improve creative skills.
Local arts organizations are partnering with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education in support of arts outreach. Our partnerships provide opportunities for students to experience and participate in the arts with professional artists in professional settings.
The San Luis Obispo County Office of Education and Opera San Luis Obispo recently hosted the summer Opera Camp for students and plans to partner for multiple student activities related to the October 12 and 13 productions of “South Pacific” at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo.
To date, this partnership has afforded more than 7,000 students the opportunity to experience and work with professional artists in a professional venue.”
Please join our email list, so we may keep you up to date on future collaboration!