Portland Opera Merges With Opera Quest Northwest
By Afton MarkayPortland Opera has expanding its education and community outreach program through the acquisition of Opera Quest Northwest.
The Vancouver nonprofit has brought live operatic music into elementary schools throughout Southwest Washington. Opera Quest’s program “Opera the Great!” blends classic opera excerpts with child-friendly interactive script. Five young professional singers portray famous opera characters to teach young audiences about opera history, stories, and melodies. Starting in 2012, Opera Quest performed the program for hundreds of 3rd through 5th graders in Clark and Cowlitz counties. When the pandemic paused live performances, Opera Quest created videos for music teachers to use based on themes from the show.
Portland Opera’s cornerstone outreach program is Portland Opera to Go (POGO). For more than 20 years, the company has performed 50-minute versions of operas like “Cinderella” and “The Magic Flute” at middle schools, high schools, and community centers. POGO travels over 5,000 miles throughout Oregon and southern Washington to bring its performances to students and educators. Portland Opera also o\ers an arts integrated curriculum and classroom visits, along with virtual lesson plans and activities for distance learning.
The two organizations formally merged earlier this year.
Alexis Hamilton, Portland Opera’s Manager of Education and Community Engagement said in a press release, “We are excited to be able to o\er the Opera Quest show and videos as a complement to our outreach programs. This new resource will help us reach younger audiences and a broader geographic region, and o\er a wonderful new performing opportunity for our resident artists.”
“Joining with Portland Opera is the logical next step in achieving our mission,” said Barbara Choltco, former board chair. “Pooling our resources with this respected organization will bring new opportunities for the children of our region to experience the excitement of classical music. We both believe that the arts are an
essential part of every student’s development.”
The two organizations formally merged earlier this year.
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