Gulfshore Opera

*To make the great art form of Opera accessible to the general population of Southwest Florida
*To introduce the art of the classically trained voice to the youth of our area through master classes, community concerts and various collaborations with public schools, universities and after school programs. *To build bridges of understanding between socioeconomic and physical boundaries through the Community in Harmony Initiative. At the base level of this initiative is the Harmony Choir;
Harmony Choir is a youth development program that seeks to affect social well being through the pursuit of musical excellence. This program seeks out the under served areas with at-risk youth, many of whom are from recent immigrant families. It is delivered at no cost to participants. It meets at six different after school providers including Salvation Army, Boys & Girls Club, PACE Center for Girls and St Leo the Great Catholic Church. Activities include choral singing, vocal instruction, musicianship skills building and percussion “Bucket Band". A qualified music education choir teacher and percussion teacher lead classes. The students perform for friends and family and twice a year congregate to perform for the general public. The program fosters community cohesion by providing positive music and social opportunities for at risk children through Education and performance.
For young adults interested in pursuing soloist opportunities, we have the Emerging artists program which offers free private coaching and paid soloist work to regional singers. We also invite students to dress rehearsals and performances and take professional artists to the schools to do master classes.

Gulfshore Opera's Community in Harmony Initiative maintains a creative environment that guides, embraces and encourages the imagination of youth, attracts established and emerging artists and inspires the lives of adults and seniors. After receiving a Community Impact grant from the SW Florida Community Foundation, the Initiative has grown considerably and is currently expanding with the hiring of the new Education Outreach Director. Planned activities include:

* Enrich the artistic landscape of Southwest Florida while broadening the base of understanding, appreciation and support for the classical vocal arts by presenting at least 24 performances by nationally recognized soloists and emerging regional artists in opera theater and classical vocal concerts to the three counties of our region.

* Make opera more accessible and inclusive by Implementing marketing, pricing and venue selection strategies reaching out to seniors, people with limited expendable income and communities where classical vocal arts performances are not otherwise available.

* Affect social well being with a music based youth development program by engaging 100 under served and at-risk youth in vocal arts training and performance opportunities.

* Introduce opera to the next generation by providing attendance to masterclasses and dress rehearsals to 3,000 school based youth.

* Inspire local, young adult emerging artists to pursue excellence in classical vocal arts by supporting at least 6 local, young adults through the GO Emerging Artists Program.

* Encourage adults and seniors to utilize classical vocal arts as an instrument of personal and community development by providing 40 adults and senior nonprofessional singers with professional instruction and performance opportunities and facilitating meaningful (non-choir) volunteer opportunities for over 50 individuals who provide over 1,650 hours of service to Gulfshore Opera.

The work of Gulfshore Opera is the evolution of an effort that began nearly 18 years ago in Collier County and has now become a regional movement with social and economic impact spanning three counties. Gulfshore Opera will successfully complete its seventh full fiscal year on June 30, 2021. It has been a busy year despite the pandemic, with 30 performances including a full scale opera production of La Boheme at Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall. We adapted to CDC guidelines by offering most of our community concerts at outdoors venues across three counties.

Gulfshore Opera's is led by a strong management team and Board of Directors. Gulfshore Opera was founded in 2014 by Steffanie Pearce, who brings 30 years of experience in the field of opera. She is a producer, director, performer and teacher of the great art form and has performed around the world. Debra Haller, M.B.A., C.P.A., developed financial system and processes to support the community based regional activities of Gulfshore Opera.
Financial Manager, Amy Brower follows strict non-profit accounting practices.For more information on Gulfshore Opera's leadership team, please visit http://www.gulfshoreopera.org/leadership

Through developing partnerships with a broad cross section of stakeholders, Gulfshore Opera has emerged as community based arts organization with the capacity to serve residents throughout Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties to strengthen performing arts organizations regionally and ultimately build a sense of community across geographic boundaries. Our partners include public schools and churches in 3 counties, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida SW University, Boys & Girls Club, Salvation Army, FT Myers Master Singers, New Horizons, Gulfshore Ballet, Theater Zone, Artis-Naples, Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall and more.

Gulfshore Opera actively and regularly engages in open dialogue with public and private partners including; schools, organizations, government entities, patrons, donors, volunteers, choir participants, staff, the board of directors and other such stakeholders. We regularly pole our patrons by sending surveys.




Gulfshore Opera strives for optimal accessibility and inclusion in all facets of program development and implementation. All of Gulfshore Opera's programs are held at venues open to the public and accessible to people with limited mobility and limited means of transportation. The organization also brings programming closer to the audience by having smaller performances in the space of local organizations in each county and by offering education programs that are in places that create the greatest impact.

In its ninth year, Gulfshore Opera has held 40 performance events with over 70 opportunities for public participation with nearly 13,000 encounters with community members. We are the only production company offering full scale grand opera performances at the areas two professional venues, the Barbara B Mann and Artis__Naples. This year we present Don Giovanni, an original design production with 80 performers. Over 1000 school based youth are reached each year along with 200 non-school based youth. Additionally, over 400 artists are engaged each year.