Look what we’re investigating…

Fort Lee School #1, 3^rd Grade – Fort Lee, NJ
How might creating music drama help students relate to, understand, and empathize with a character?

Fort Lee School #2, 5^th Grade – Fort Lee, NJ
To what extent can engaging in the artistic process of music drama impact students’ ability to illustrate different points-of-view in the changing history of America?

Fort Lee School #3, 5^th Grade – Fort Lee, NJ
Still inquiring…

Fort Lee School #4, 5^th Grade – Fort Lee, NJ
To what extent can teaching music be integrated into general classroom literacy practices, and how can music specialists and general classroom teachers collaborate, and with what techniques, so that there is documentable evidence that the creation of music drama does in fact enhance the teaching of literacy?

Bronx Little School, 2^nd and 5^th Grade – Bronx
To what extent can the revision aspect of creating music drama impact students’ writing?

P.S. 10, Whole School – Brooklyn
In development…

P.S. 15, Kindergarten – Brooklyn
How can creating music drama help my students identify elements in a story (such as beginning, middle, and ending)?

P.S. 145, 4^th and 5^th Grade – Manhattan
How can opera help students (especially ELLs and SPED) build self-confidence and risk-taking in literacy and social-emotional arenas?

Renaissance Charter School, 5^th and 6^th Grade – Queens
How does the process of creating music drama help students to strive for excellence?

How does the process of creating original music drama help students utilize the elements of story in their own writing, and analyze these features in the writing of others?

Libretto Writing Principles from 12.10.10 Workshop

Here are the principles of libretto-writing as outlined by Anna during her 15-minute words + music activity at the December 10, 2010 Network Meeting:

• Importance- does this text really capture the essence of what the character is experiencing and how we, the writers, wish to present this character
• Distillation- is every word absolutely essential? Can the text be even briefer (therefore leaving room for music to add meaning)?
• Evocation- does this text evoke the voice of the character or the dramatic setting? Does the sound of the text help to convey its meaning?
• Musicality- does the text suggest particular rhythmic or tone qualities? Is there something striking or inherently “sing-able” about the sound of the text?

Renaissance Charter School — Arts Experience PD

On Thursday, November 4, 2010, Cristine, Michael, and Allison from the Renaissance Charter School attended their first on-site Opera Institute professional development as a team. The goal of the PD was to reintroduce two of the key elements of music drama creation: tableau and libretto composition. A follow-up PD will focus on music and theater composition, as well as classroom connections.

The source material for the morning was the classic American poem “Casey at the Bat,” which is also frequently used as an ELA text for 5th Grade curriculum. Here is a video clip of Cristine, Michael, and Allison expanding on a tableau capturing the moment Casey strikes out, so that it becomes a brief, moving scene, comprised of multiple dramatic “beats”:

VIDEO LINK

After writing out the beats of their scene, the Renaissance team individually sketched rough monologues from the perspective of Casey to capture the moment after he strikes out and lets down his team, the Mudville nine, as well as his thousands of crazed fans. They then shared their monologues, extracting the language and ideas to write lyrics for Casey’s aria. Here is Cristine performing the lyrics as they were initially:

VIDEO LINK

Here is a lyric sheet showing the revised words, after Michael altered tenses and pronouns to give the piece a clearer dramatic and emotional arc:

Mighty Casey (Renaissance 11-4-10)

Network Teacher Published in NJEA Review

Our very own Carl Faust, Music Teacher at Fort Lee School 4, Fort Lee, NJ recently had an article published in the New Jersey Education Association Review about opera in the classroom.

You can read the article here on the NJEA website.
Congratulations, Carl!

Summer Institute 2010: Final Sharing

Teams at year’s Summer Institute worked to create their own music dramas based on the Vietnamese folktale, The Crystal Heart.  Original words, music, and staging were crafted by each team based on their interpretation/adaptation of the story.

Below is a video of the RED TEAM from our final sharing–in addition to sharing the final products, each team presented an artifact that helped the group understand what they learned about the creating music drama process. Check our the rest of the videos on our YouTube Channel! Enjoy!

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog of the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Opera Institute Network (OIN).

This blog has been established for members so they can connect with one another through the click of a mouse. Consider this blog a forum to pose questions, bounce ideas, and discuss issues or topics that arise as you move forward with your OIN work.

The Opera Institute Network comprises of Educators, Artist Resource Consultants, and Met Opera Guild Staff. We hope you will use this opportunity to call upon their creative thinking and hands-on experience, as well as share your own expertise.

Wishing you all a relaxing summer and energized start to the 2010-11 school year.

Maggie & Anna