Urban Voices follows the guidelines set forth in the New York City Department of Education's Blueprints for Teaching and Learning in the Arts. Each class performs in a culminating concert, usually in the spring. Guild-trained choral artists collaborate with classroom teachers in devising lesson plans, choosing repertory that is age-appropriate and connected to the classroom curriculum, and conducting each class. Urban Voices: A Choral Music Initiative: A high-touch choral-music program targeted to low-income public and parochial schools in New York City, Urban Voices provides once-a-week classroom choral instruction for the entire school year for grades K-12. Classroom materials, teacher workshops and backstage tours are also provided to member schools. Met School Membership Program: For an annual membership fee, schools receive 44 tickets, which may be used at one or several events, including final dress rehearsals, director's rehearsals and discounted evening performances (for an additional nominal fee per ticket). For more information, visit the Guild's education department on the web at School Programs The Metropolitan Opera Guild is a pioneer and leader in arts education whose programs build the capacity of teachers and schools to make the arts a vital part of their classrooms. Opera combines all the arts-drama, poetry, music, movement/dance, visual arts-and thus is a perfect vehicle for arts instruction. Its impact will be felt over years as children grow and become new opera lovers or, perhaps, are inspired to pursue their own dreams of performance.

By combining musical and historical background with hands-on experiential learning and physical and vocal activity, workshop participants learn to recognize characters by sight and sound, follow a complex operatic plot, and understand the power of music, acting, and design to tell a story. Opera Explorers: Opera Explorers introduces children aged 5-9 (with their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles) to opera. Visitors see the shops where artisans create sets, costumes and wigs rehearsal facilities dressing rooms and the vast stage complex with its revolving platform and side stages. The 90-minute hour tour explores this amazing ten-story structure, which stretches the length of an entire city block. Backstage Tours: Visitors ages 7 and older may take a backstage tour of the Met during opera season on select weekdays at 3:30 pm and Sundays at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm.

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