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In Memory of Flora Thornton...
I would like to thank the beautiful and far-seeing Flora Thornton for her support of the arts and of this project. Flora understood how important the element of hands-on outreach can be to an art form such as opera. She understood that no art in this ever-changing culture can compete with the slick veneer of the commercial vehicle unless it is given a proper introduction. Flora understood that opera is really for everyone but it is the job of those of us who understand it and who have been blessed by it to pass it on with all the passion and fervor that is its due. I will be forever grateful for the angel that sat on my shoulder and the friend who understood that despite my confidence in the value of this program, I still needed one person to say "yes!"
This film is a dedication to Flora Thornton on the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She will live in our hearts and in the hearts of all those young people who graduated from this program and from LACHSA with very important memories and visceral connections to the arts.''
The Full Circle Opera Project is a project created by singer, Stephanie Vlahos, as a means of effectively promoting the classical arts in a fresh, new way. It suggests that the appreciation of opera need not limit itself to those who can afford the tickets, or even, necessarily to adults. It does not patronize the intelligence of teenagers but engages their interest by allowing them to exercise their unique and fresh connection to opera stories and music. Unlike other programs, it places the burden of responsibility with regard to outreach on the young adults who will perform in and work behind-the-scenes of the operas and will, in turn, outreach those performances to their peers and to children younger than themselves, thereby inviting their larger peer communities into a celebration of the art form. The project includes a variety of professional artists from the community to collaborate on productions. The project has grown from a membership of 16 to 60 eager young performers. It now sports a legion of alumni, many of whom are now stepping into the arts (and opera) as significant players.
The Full Circle Opera Project finds its inspiration in the students of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts with which it has been in happy collaboration for over 10 years. I would like to thank LACHSA and Dr Dan Castro, music chair for their far-seeing vision of the value of this project. This is an arts institution that is not only focused on nurturing talent but truly interested in nurturing the kind of mind that every artist in any discipline must have, after all, experience is the key to perspective. |
