Talent Development
Talent Development by Yo! Opera
The considerable task Yo! Opera took on is related to the way artists – especially composers and singers – receive their education. In the Netherlands, but also elsewhere, the conceptions students have of the social relevance of their work, or of the connection with audiences are very limited. Talent development by Yo! Opera has always been closely related to education. Yo! Opera saw artistry first and for all as a form of communication. Communicating with children and youth was crucial: their honesty, authenticity and straightforwardness can be confronting and ask of the artist that he be equipped with these same characteristics if he wants to connect to them.
New youth opera, as pursued by Yo! Opera, required a new type of musician: singers, composers, and instrumentalists who have not only professional skills in music and great power of expression, but also possess flexibility, social engagement, creativity, the ability to improvise and authenticity. New youth opera asks for a musician who is in touch with life, and who is curious and motivated to approach young audiences with an open mind.
Talent development was one of the connecting threads in Yo! Opera's projects. Yo! Opera wanted to treat the singer as an independent ‘maker’ who does not only perform, but who himself also develops ideas and who is able to realize and present these. A changed role of the singer also implied different roles for the composers, directors and others responsible for the artistic product. Therefore, Yo! Opera dealt with talent development from the broad perspective of all disciplines. It gave extra attention to several aims in the field of education. Yo! Opera considered art as a heteronymous phenomenon, instead of departing from the artist as an autonomous specialist. The artist should be an allrounder.
These thoughts had influenced Yo! Opera since it was founded, but became flesh by the contacts made in 2004 with the Lectorate Life Long Learning in Music at the Hanzehogeschool and its lecturer, Rineke Smilde. As part of the project Kloppend Hertz, four young composers were from 2005 involved in an exciting adventure aiming at a new type of artistry. Paul Oomen, Thomas Myrmel, Matthias Konecny and Zbigniew Wolny worked under the umbrella of Yo! Opera and were assigned to balance artistic freedom, educational objectives and social reality.
In general, talent development at Yo! Opera focused on three competencies: artistic, generic and educational. The first is related to improving skills needed for making youth opera. The second type of competency is meant to strengthen the relationship between the ideas opera makers have of their work on the one hand and society on the other. The third competency has to do with improving artists' didactic proficiencies.
Yo! Opera applied these competencies in many of its projects. Singers, composers, musicians, but also directors and education workers were enabled to gain more practical experience in Opera uit het Hart [Opera from the Heart], Water, Kuil [Pit], De Operaflat, Just for one Day, Grensgevallen Borderlines] or Smells like Tahrir Spirit. These cases of nonformal learning and practice based learning were a welcome addition to the curriculum of art schools. The same applies to education routes Yo! Opera offered to singing or composing students in art schools, often combined with workshops given by experienced theatre makers, directors and musicians.
In the projects mentioned above, Yo! Opera worked together with a great number of students at Dutch schools of music. The singing and composing departments of the conservatories in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Tilburg, Zwolle/Arnhem, Groningen and Rotterdam have in the course of years sent many a student to Yo! Opera to gain practical experience. To give an impression of the scale: more than 200 students from art and music schools participated in the 2009 Yo! Opera festival.
The special collaboration between Yo! Opera, VocaalLab and Oosterlicht College in Nieuwegein must also be noted here. From 2005 artistic director Romain Bischoff of Vocaallab set up a collaboration project annually between secondary school pupils of Oosterlicht College and several up-and-coming professionals (singers and musicians), in which Yo! Opera acted as coproducer. Under the inspiring leadership of Bischoff, four powerful shows were created, all based on current themes, in which the pupils themselves created important parts of the opera. The young professionals worked together with the pupils, which resulted in a show in which the difference between professionals and amateurs could hardly be noticed. A beautiful example of education and talent development going hand in hand, which is worth following in the future.
The considerable task Yo! Opera took on is related to the way artists – especially composers and singers – receive their education. In the Netherlands, but also elsewhere, the conceptions students have of the social relevance of their work, or of the connection with audiences are very limited. Talent development by Yo! Opera has always been closely related to education. Yo! Opera saw artistry first and for all as a form of communication. Communicating with children and youth was crucial: their honesty, authenticity and straightforwardness can be confronting and ask of the artist that he be equipped with these same characteristics if he wants to connect to them.
New youth opera, as pursued by Yo! Opera, required a new type of musician: singers, composers, and instrumentalists who have not only professional skills in music and great power of expression, but also possess flexibility, social engagement, creativity, the ability to improvise and authenticity. New youth opera asks for a musician who is in touch with life, and who is curious and motivated to approach young audiences with an open mind.
Talent development was one of the connecting threads in Yo! Opera's projects. Yo! Opera wanted to treat the singer as an independent ‘maker’ who does not only perform, but who himself also develops ideas and who is able to realize and present these. A changed role of the singer also implied different roles for the composers, directors and others responsible for the artistic product. Therefore, Yo! Opera dealt with talent development from the broad perspective of all disciplines. It gave extra attention to several aims in the field of education. Yo! Opera considered art as a heteronymous phenomenon, instead of departing from the artist as an autonomous specialist. The artist should be an allrounder.
These thoughts had influenced Yo! Opera since it was founded, but became flesh by the contacts made in 2004 with the Lectorate Life Long Learning in Music at the Hanzehogeschool and its lecturer, Rineke Smilde. As part of the project Kloppend Hertz, four young composers were from 2005 involved in an exciting adventure aiming at a new type of artistry. Paul Oomen, Thomas Myrmel, Matthias Konecny and Zbigniew Wolny worked under the umbrella of Yo! Opera and were assigned to balance artistic freedom, educational objectives and social reality.
In general, talent development at Yo! Opera focused on three competencies: artistic, generic and educational. The first is related to improving skills needed for making youth opera. The second type of competency is meant to strengthen the relationship between the ideas opera makers have of their work on the one hand and society on the other. The third competency has to do with improving artists' didactic proficiencies.
Yo! Opera applied these competencies in many of its projects. Singers, composers, musicians, but also directors and education workers were enabled to gain more practical experience in Opera uit het Hart [Opera from the Heart], Water, Kuil [Pit], De Operaflat, Just for one Day, Grensgevallen Borderlines] or Smells like Tahrir Spirit. These cases of nonformal learning and practice based learning were a welcome addition to the curriculum of art schools. The same applies to education routes Yo! Opera offered to singing or composing students in art schools, often combined with workshops given by experienced theatre makers, directors and musicians.
In the projects mentioned above, Yo! Opera worked together with a great number of students at Dutch schools of music. The singing and composing departments of the conservatories in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Tilburg, Zwolle/Arnhem, Groningen and Rotterdam have in the course of years sent many a student to Yo! Opera to gain practical experience. To give an impression of the scale: more than 200 students from art and music schools participated in the 2009 Yo! Opera festival.
The special collaboration between Yo! Opera, VocaalLab and Oosterlicht College in Nieuwegein must also be noted here. From 2005 artistic director Romain Bischoff of Vocaallab set up a collaboration project annually between secondary school pupils of Oosterlicht College and several up-and-coming professionals (singers and musicians), in which Yo! Opera acted as coproducer. Under the inspiring leadership of Bischoff, four powerful shows were created, all based on current themes, in which the pupils themselves created important parts of the opera. The young professionals worked together with the pupils, which resulted in a show in which the difference between professionals and amateurs could hardly be noticed. A beautiful example of education and talent development going hand in hand, which is worth following in the future.
