OPERA MONTANA

Opera Montana inspires and creates community and collaboration through world-class opera, musical theater, and educational engagement. As a mission-driven organization, we view the arts as a means by which we can be of service to our community, which extends to the entire state of Montana. In addition to being the standard-bearers for the art form as the only independently operating professional opera company in the state, we also recognize common needs of communities across Montana, including music education, Veterans services, Indigenous representation in the arts, and accessibility to the performing arts, both from a geographic and economic standpoint. As one of the highest-ranking states for the Veteran share of the adult population, Montana has a need for a diversity of Veterans services, including those that are based in music and art. Through our work with Veterans organizations, we have discovered that many Veterans describe missing the presence of art and music in their lives during and after their service, and that these can be powerful tools for healing and creating lasting relationships. We are now discussing with our local Veteran partners the goal of expanding this aspect of our programming to reach statewide. Testimonials from Veterans Chorus members show that this program has a positive impact on Veterans in our community, and we aim to offer these services more widely, in addition to growing the Chorus in the Gallatin Valley and continuing to work with the American Legion Gallatin Post #14, the Vietnam Veterans Association Chapter #788, and other local partners. Nationally, there is a lack of Indigenous representation in classical music, particularly opera, and Montana is no different. At Opera Montana we recognize that we have a responsibility as an organization to support Indigenous artists through our operations, education, and programming.Wheels of Harmony brings Indigenous opera singers and musicians to schools in rural and Tribal communities across Montana, to share cultural and musical education, stories, and inspiration for Montana students to participate in the arts. We have received feedback from young Native students that it was impactful to see professional opera singers and musicians who are also Native. We are continuing to grow Wheels of Harmony in collaboration with cultural and educational consultants and the new Operations and Education position dedicated to managing the program.We are working to make our local performances accessible to a wider population, both geographically and economically. In 2023, we launched Opera For All, a program that offers a set number of free tickets to each of our mainstage productions, no questions asked. We had several patrons tell us that they would not have been able to attend the performances without this program. We worked with local hotels to offer discounts on nightly stays during the runs of our shows for people traveling long distances. We are continuing these accessibility efforts in future seasons.In reference to Part I Summary - Revenue and Expenses.Because we use accrual based accounting and are currently in the midst of a capital campaign, revenues reflect multi-year pledges towards campaign priorities including the commissioning of a new opera based on Norman Maclean's beloved novella, "A River Runs Through It". Due to this project, expenses are much higher than previous years as well.