What's Opera to a Bunch of High School Students? Young Voices, "The New Crop"

One of the greatest gifts you can offer a teen is confidence. The other? A process for refining that raw self-assurance into an impressive talent and invaluable life skill. But where to start? At the beginning, of course! 

Join Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia as they happily infiltrate Orientation Day for the Young Voices program, one of several prestigious youth-focused initiatives at Santa Fe Opera.

Get to know this year's cohort as they share their first-day impressions and program goals. Key Change favorites Amy Owens, director of the Young Voices program, and Charles Gamble, director of Community Engagement, also stop by to preview the program's curriculum and performance opportunities culminating in a much anticipated public recital. 

"They're coming into a good environment for nurturing," beams Charles as he watches 17 of the 19 high schoolers begin to bond with one another and absorb the creative energy around them. After today, each student will participate in private voice lessons before reuniting for retreats and ensemble work.

Young Voices is an intense program. "So, I've built in some things that make it a little bit easier for them," Amy assures us. Does she have any advice for this year's cohort? "Whatever is meant to happen––whether you pursue a career in music or something else––that's gonna happen no matter where you go," she offers. "Taking a little bit of pressure off and letting them experience the joy of interacting with their process, with music, is what I hope this program can provide them within a season of stress."

FEATURING

Amy Owens, director of the Young Voices program, Santa Fe Opera

Charles Gamble, director of Community Engagement, Santa Fe Opera

Andrea Klunder, producer, Key Change Podcast

Young Voices Of Santa Fe Opera 2024/25: Rylee Baca, Cianna (Gigi) Clay, Kadiah Dragone-Gutierrez, Landen Kessler, William Landahl, Gavin Lopez, Eleanor Lucas, Ava Mitchie, Alexander Nicolas Neas, Alexandra Raskin, Nicolas Taccetti

Young Voices Studio: Petra Archuletta, Iris Butcher, Rose Gubelmann, Brooklyn Moeno, Elsa Dhonau-Egan, Seraphina Goldstein, Ida Shelton, Jade Zeno-Neal

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Opera Storytellers Summer Camp | Santa Fe Opera

Opera Makes Sense | Santa Fe Opera

Taos Opera Guild

RELATED EPISODES

Harmony In Process: The Young Voices Of Santa Fe Opera With Amy "Process" Owens

Making Learning Sticky: Creative Compassion For Kids And Educators Through Opera With Charles Gamble

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Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera in collaboration with Opera for All Voices.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Andrea Fellows Fineberg & Anna Garcia

Audio Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Technical Director: Edwin R. Ruiz

Production Support from Alex Riegler

Show Notes by Lisa Widder

Theme music by Rene Orth with Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano, and Joe Becktell, cello

Cover art by Dylan Crouch

This podcast is made possible due to the generous funding from the Hankins Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and an Opera America Innovation Grant supported by the Anne & Gordon Getty Foundation.  

To learn more about Opera For All Voices, visit SantaFeOpera.org. And for more Key Change, visit SantaFeOpera.org/KeyChange.