Have you ever wondered what it takes to create a new opera? Season 5 of Key Change, from the Santa Fe Opera Department of Community Engagement, is coming soon and we’d LOVE for you to help us celebrate its 5th anniversary. We just learned that Key Change is a FINALIST in the Signal Awards for the podcasting industry!

We are up for 2 different awards: 

Best Music Show for the 4th season; and

Best Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Episode for “Telling Hard Truths”, an episode  following the commission, creation, and world premiere of This Little Light of Mine by Chandler Carter and Diana Solomon-Glover.

A panel of esteemed industry leaders will be judging the Signal Awards and YOU can help us win Listener’s Choice in both categories by voting for Key Change on their website. We’ve linked both of the voting pages in the show notes in the episode description in your app.

To vote for best Music show go to bit.ly/podcastawardmusic. 

To vote for best DEI episode go to bit.ly/podcastawarddei.

Voting ends October 5th, 2023. So please cast your vote as soon as you can!

And yes, you do need to create a sign-in on their site, as they are VERY serious about keeping it fair and preventing people from spamming the ballot box.

We are honored to be recognized for the quality, the heart, and the impact of Key Change and Opera For All Voices. It would be the icing on the show's 5th anniversary cake to officially win a Signal Award!

Thank you, as always, for your support! If you haven't yet listened to Key Change, catch up in your favorite podcast app before Season 5 launches in January 2024.

***

Excerpt features the voice of Music Director for This Little Light of Mine, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Jaqueline "Cookie" Hamer Flakes, daughter of Fannie Lou Hamer, as well as music from This Little Light of Mine.

***

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

Production Manager: 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 us at SantaFeOpera.org.

It’s encore time! After a brief hiatus to appreciate a triumphant 65th summer of opera in the desert, Destination Santa Fe Opera returns with one last conversation to close out this podcast season.

Host Jane Trembley chats with Charles Gamble, SFO’s newly appointed Director of School Programs, and Amy Owens, newly appointed Director Designate of the Young Voices Program about how opera’s inclusive, collaborative storytelling can boost self-esteem and confidence in young people. Charles and Amy also share the paths that led each of them to their current positions, and they provide valuable details regarding the community engagement programs that SFO is involved in, including Opera Storytellers Summer Camp, the Young Voices Program, Active Learning Through Opera (ALTO), and The New Mexico Alliance for Responsive Teaching (NM ART.)

Opera often seems insular and complicated to those unfamiliar with the art form. All the more reason for students to gain exposure to it as soon as possible. “Opera does a remarkable job bringing together every art form,” says Charles, thoroughly smashing opera’s stiff reputation. He is also quick to point out that a student’s first opera might be their last if the introduction isn’t engaging or relatable. “If you consider that each one of the components is actually a point of access rather than focusing on the overwhelming experience, I think that's the way into [opera] for most students.”

Amy agrees. “There’s an infinite well of curiosity, of things to discover through opera, from the super-analytical stuff to the very playful and vulnerable.” She and Charles point to arts education in general and opera exposure specifically as scaffolding for skills-building, lessons that will support students throughout their lives. 

Thanks for joining us behind the scenes this season! 

Learn more:

School Programs, The Santa Fe Opera

The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera

Opera Storytellers Summer Camp

ALTO: Active Learning Through Opera

Charles Gamble - Director of School Programs, Santa Fe Opera

Amy Owens - Director Designate of the Young Voices Program of the Santa Fe Opera

Website

Facebook

Instagram

SFO TikTok

SFO Twitter

SFO YouTube

Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Hosted by: Jane Trembley

Show Notes by: Lisa Widder

***

Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at https://www.santafeopera.org.

We’d love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera.

Santa Fe Opera plays host to more than peerless productions. On stage and off, SFO apprentices spend the season learning by doing at one of the most celebrated and welcoming training grounds in the world. Host Jane Trembley chats with technical apprentice Khadija Ann Tarver and apprentice singer Thomas Cilluffo about their respective programs, what advice the pair have for aspiring apprentices, and their plans beyond Santa Fe.

“I was coming in open-minded since I didn't have a traditional theater background,” admits Khadija. Talent earned her a coveted spot on this season’s props and carpentry team, while curiosity has improved Khadija’s design-and-build acumen. “There's a lot of pressure [to feel like] I'm not particularly good at this yet. Then there's a moment when you realize all of these people in the scene shop and carpentry shop are here to help me, and they want to see me learn as much as possible.”

Apprentice opportunities honor SFO founder John Crosby’s vision of providing an immersive and inclusive environment in which to gain practical experience. “Once you get here, you get coachings, you get lessons, you do apprentice scenes, you do master classes, you sing in the choruses,” Tom says. While his intense performance routine doesn’t leave much downtime for anything but rest, he welcomes the challenges and is bolstered by the camaraderie. “I think the best advice I can give is always to assume positive intent because nobody is here to be your opposition.”

Learn more about The Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program for Singers and the Apprentice Program for Theater Technicians.

Khadija Ann Tarver -  Technical Apprentice

Thomas Cilluffo - Performance Apprentice

Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Hosted by: Jane Trembley

Additional Editing by: Helen King

Show Notes by: Lisa Widder

***

Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at https://www.santafeopera.org.

We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera.