Loose Tea Music Theatre announced a two-year BIPOC Composer and Librettist Development Program to support diverse new creators in opera and music theatre in a press release on Oct. 1st.
“Opera has a diversity problem. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour) creators in opera are navigating an institution that systemically works against their success,” read the release from LTMT. “Opera, specifically in Canada, needs opportunities for professional training and development to address the gaps created by these systemic barriers.”
Two teams of emerging BIPOC-identifying composers and librettists will be selected to write a 30-45 minute chamber opera; they will be supported by four established composers and librettists: Eliot Britton, Marjorie Chan, Marcia Johnson and Cecilia Livingston.
“By creating this program, we are directly addressing issues of systemic racism that makes pursuing a career in opera inaccessible,” said LTMT Executive Artistic Director Alaina Viau in the release.
Participants will develop their pieces during two large workshops in Kingston, ON and multiple small workshops as their new works require. The program is being run in partnership with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston and the University of Toronto’s Electronic Music Lab.
Creators will be paid a full commissioning fee that is inclusive of mentorship; Applications are due Nov. 8th.
