WHO WE ARE

The YPOS is a new society born out of the realization that there is no opera specifically intended for a young audience in BC.

Patricia Dahlquist is founder and Artistic Director of the Young People’s Opera Society of BC. A professional performer for 40 years, she has taught voice since 1978. A former member of the boards of directors for both the Surrey and Delta Arts Council she produced Gala ’98 at the Surrey Arts Centre, has co-produced Surrey Sings! for several 8 years, and recently mentored and directed a one-act play for the Youth Arts Council of Surrey. Patricia wrote the libretto and directed The King Who Wouldn’t Sing, the Society’s first production, performed at Surrey Arts Centre Main Stage in 2007.

George Austin, pianist, composer and conductor, wrote the score for the Young People’s Opera Society of BC’s (YPOSBC) premiere production, “The King Who Wouldn’t Sing”. George is a graduate of UBC where he earned a masters degree in music. He founded, and conducted, the Richmond Community Orchestra. George has been music director for Fraser Valley Gilbert & Sullivan’s theatre productions, choir director, voice and piano teacher, and performer. He is a founding member of YPOSBC.

For the first four Barbara Gould was Executive Director who is a former administrator and director of the Arts Council of Surrey, and mentor to the Youth Arts Council. She was founding member of a cappella quintet, Grace Notes. In 2006 and 2007 she was co-ordinator of the Spirit of BC’s “Celebrate the Arts” event for Surrey. She was recently honoured as one of the Treasures of the City of Surrey.

WHAT WE DO

Imagine opera!

Imagine an opera performed by adults and youth, for youth and adults. Imagine performances that entertain thousands of people; performances that combine music, singing, drama, and stagecraft; performances that employ the skills of nationally-known artists and young, enthusiastic local talent, while introducing the community to opera. Right here in the Lower Mainland.

The Young People's Opera Society of BC's inaugural production, The King Who Wouldn't Sing, was an original work by UBC grads, Delta librettist Patricia Dahlquist and Vancouver composer George Austin. Staged in Surrey in July 2007, this was the first initiative of a five-year plan to engage adults and children in the experience of opera, train new voices, develop confidence in young performers, build new community partnerships and artistic collaborations, and expose audiences to what is sometimes considered one of the least accessible forms of performance art.

The first production The King Who Wouldn't Sing exposed adults and kids to the majesty of traditional opera with a dash of rap and hip-hop, to loveable, monster characters Yeah But and What If, and to a professionally-staged performance that reflected and engaged the diverse interests and skills of the community - many of whom come from countries in which music plays a primary role in cultural life. The Young People's Opera Society's first production was innovative and exciting.

WHY WE DO IT

As a non-profit society we will offer affordable training and mentoring in music, voice, stage performance to talented youngsters, regardless of ethnic or socio-economic background.

Presenting young people with the opportunity to express themselves through song, dance, theatre and art gives them an outlet for their creative energy and diverts them from the many negative influences that trip up so many of our youth today. By learning to appreciate, participate in and perform opera, young people experience the positive impact of working as a team, the benefits of practice, discipline and teamwork - life-skills that will serve them well as adult members of the community.

There is an opportunity to practice cross-cultural casting at an early age that will lead to a greater degree of integration and acceptance that could reduce the bullying and exclusion of individuals or groups in schoolyards and on the streets of our cities.

The Young People's Opera Society's mission is to develop a sustainable music program that is accessible and beneficial to all sectors of the population.

WHAT IS NEXT?

By training young singers and exposing them to the majesty of opera, the Young People's Opera Society will be building an awareness of and appreciation for the total theatre experience that we call "opera"...grand in scale, dramatic in form, beautiful to see and hear...an art form that nourishes the soul and is capable of transforming a community.

One of the advantages of having young people participate in the arts is the domino effect -parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends come to cheer the kids on, thus creating an adult audience that may never have attended an opera performance.

In writing The King Who Wouldn't Sing the creators demonstrated, through the libretto, the transformational power of music...the importance of its role in everyday life...for when the king bans singing in his kingdom, all of the people's joy, vitality and productivity disappear and are replaced by confusion, rebellion and chaos.

Outcomes from the initiative will be maintained through our education program and through the annual presentation of a complete opera, either newly commissioned or a known work, with the support of community partnerships and artistic collaborations.

Throughout the development of this initiative the YPOS sought the support and collaboration of the City of Surrey, Arts Council of Surrey (ACS), Youth Arts Council of Surrey (YACOS), BC Children's Choir, and Surrey Symphony Society. It is the society's intention to continue to work with these groups to ensure the viability and sustainability of the opera program.
A home-grown "children's" opera will make the introduction of "grand opera" more palatable to a wider audience, some of whom have formed the perception that opera is somehow "elitist" or "heavy". This initiative will bring opera back to the people where it truly belongs. The place to begin is with the youth of our community.

Opera can be fun for kids. It is work, but of the rewarding kind. Young people involved in the arts learn life-skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives - how to listen, how to work with others, discipline, pride in their work, self-respect and respect for others. And they learn how to access both sides of their brain.

"The King Who Wouldn't Sing" dramatized the affect(s) of music on the happiness, vitality and economic well being of community life. It serves as the opening salvo to a long-range program to familiarize elementary and secondary school students (with the support of their music departments and school-boards) with the many aspects of opera (singing, dancing, acting, staging), and to mentor them through all stages of the development of an opera production. And when the community is ready, it is our intention to open an opera school in Surrey that is accessible and affordable to all young, talented performers in our region.