Boston Lyric Opera

She Was There
Boston, MA

She Was There is a two-day event that brings together film, music, and dialogue to illuminate forgotten and overlooked stories of Black revolutionary women. Inspired by the profound words of the spiritual “Were You There?” this event centers a partnership between Boston Lyric Opera, Castle of Our Skins, the Museum of African American History, and the West End Museum, challenging historical omissions and reimagining whose stories are centered in cultural memory. Timed with America 250, She Was There seeks to reframe national commemorations with equity at the forefront, while also serving as a poignant companion to Boston Lyric Opera’s production of The Daughter of the Regiment. Through music and testimony, we ask: Who have we forgotten? And how do we carry their legacies forward? 

LA Opera

LA County Arts and Health Week Summit and Pilot Community Health Program
Los Angeles, CA

LA Opera will deepen the company’s commitment to arts and health through an expanded partnership with LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, who represents over two million people in the First District. This partnership will closely integrate LA Opera with First District priorities, resulting in new practices that help to build the arts and health infrastructure needed throughout LA County and increase regional awareness of the benefits of music and the arts as an integral part of community health and wellness. Goals include advancing cross-sector awareness and capabilities to use the arts in healthcare and other settings; implementing and sharing replicable program models; creating new music and health collaborations serving communities with health inequities; encouraging systemic change within arts and healthcare; facilitating arts and health-focused engagement with LA County entities; and raising awareness of the benefits of the arts in wellness among low-income and marginalized populations.

Opera Parallèle

The Bullhorn: Amplifying LGBTQ+ Voices
San Francsisco, CA

In 2025 and 2026, Opera Parallèle (OP) is proud to expand its ongoing collaboration with San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community, supporting the co-created events of Expansive: A Showcase of Transgender & Nonbinary Classical Artists and a deepening of ties with LGBTQ+ partners in the city’s historic Castro District. From May 31 to June 7, OP will perform the West Coast premiere of Harvey Milk Reimagined, Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie’s opera inspired by the life and legacy of California’s first openly gay elected public official. OP will build on existing partnerships with new collaborators for a community celebration of Harvey Milk Day on May 22, which would have been Milk’s 95^th birthday, focusing on those still fighting for visibility and rights — trans and nonbinary individuals, LGBTQ+ people of color, and others. A highlight of the event will be a community sing-along of “Thank You, San Francisco” from the opera, featuring members of the OP cast and chorus.

Pacific Opera Victoria

Found in Translation
Victoria, BC

Pacific Opera Victoria is excited about its community program Found in Translation, a cultural collaboration with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Royal BC Museum, and the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. This initiative will deepen community ties through the translation and performance of songs in Indigenous and newcomer languages. The initiative honors the voices of Indigenous Elders and civic artists, expanding their number and impact. Performances will include community events and a reconciliation program, providing a powerful platform for Indigenous histories. It will also set newcomer languages to song, supporting cultural integration and understanding. The project will culminate in public performances, a multilingual songbook with IPA transcriptions, and audio recordings — resources to be shared nationwide to foster cross-cultural connection and language preservation.

San Diego Opera

Joan of the City: Building Community Connections Through the Arts
San Diego, CA

San Diego Opera proudly announces Joan of the City: Building Community Connections Through the Arts, a bold civic practice project that harnesses the power of opera to uplift the voices of individuals experiencing homelessness. Partnering with Voices of Our City Choir and Father Joe’s Villages, San Diego Opera will offer creative sessions inviting participants to craft original songs drawn from their lived experiences. A community advisory group will guide the project’s civic strategy through virtual planning meetings, helping shape a public forum on how arts organizations can contribute to civic challenges. The project will culminate in a public performance by the Voices of Our City Choir, a dynamic community forum, and a multimedia impact video capturing participant stories and project outcomes — amplifying the power of creative expression to build understanding and connection across San Diego.

Volcano Theatre

Creating Safety and Equity Through Progressive Policy Work
Volcano, CA

Volcano Theatre’s project Creating Safety and Equity Through Progressive Policy Work aims to dismantle systemic inequities in opera production and touring through direct action. Through this project, which launched during Volcano’s U.S. premiere of its production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at the Harris Theater in Chicago, Volcano will implement and refine its Standard of Care rider — a groundbreaking contract tool designed to protect IBPOC artists and audiences. In collaboration with Black community organizations, audiences, and artists, Volcano will measure the rider’s impact, revise its approaches, and work toward sector-wide adoption. This project builds on Volcano’s long-standing commitment to anti-racism, civic practice, and community-centered creation. Outcomes, including policy templates and a sector-wide white paper, will be freely shared throughout the OPERA America and Association for Opera in Canada networks.

White Snake Projects

Native Triumphs — Celebrating Living Cultures and Traditions
Boston, MA

White Snake Projects’ ambitious vision to celebrate America’s 250^th anniversary foregrounds Indigenous cultures, traditions, and perspectives on our country’s founding. These activations are anchored by the premiere of Requiem for America by composer Brent Michael Davids (Mohican/Munsee-Lenape), which invites audiences to contemplate and learn about America’s founding through the oft-neglected perspective of Native peoples, using primary-source texts about genocidal events inflicted on Native nations. Requiem, one of the few events during the 250^th celebrations that will tell stories from the Native perspective, will have its world premiere in November 2026. The piece lives within WSP’s Native Triumphs project, a year-long series of community activations that has four primary goals: 1) to celebrate living traditions across Turtle Island (North America); 2) to restore and revisit historical narratives; 3) to highlight the diversity of Native nations, cultures, and arts; and 4) to empower people to join together in seeking collective liberation.