HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/08/2015 - City Arts Commission - 15 Southland Sings - ATTACHMENT J CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH ARTS COMMISSION
CULTURAL ARTS GRANT APPLICATION
Applications must be typed or word-processed- you may reformat on the computer as long as it
appears the same: i.e. use Times New Roman 12 point and the same pagination.)
Southland Sings
Popular Name of Organization
Formerly Southland Opera
Legal Name (if different)Federal Tax ID No.
In January 2015 Southland Opera officially changed the company name to Southland Sings
This new name better reflects the company’s programming and mission 95-4652153
Mailing Address
450 Tocino Drive
City Zip
Duarte, CA 91010
Contact Name Telephone
Ann Noriel 626-357-9156
FAX e-mail Web Site
acnoriel@mac.com www.southlandsings.org
Geographical Area Served: The area served will be within the city limits of Newport Beach.
Have you received a City of Newport Beach Cultural Arts Grant before? Yes If so, when?
We have been funded by City of Newport Beach every year since 1999 through the most current year 2015.
Year organization was founded 1997 Number of paid staff (artists) ten (10) part - time performers and one
(1) office staff. Number of active volunteers: Ten (10)
Total amount requested: (from request line of project budget) $3,600- for a total of seven performances of
either of our two music education assemblies, Adventures in Song and Story and Operetta! A World Tour, to
be offered to Newport Beach elementary schools, the Environmental Nature Center, the Newport Beach
Library, the Orange County Museum of Art and ExplorOcean. Preference will be given to sites that have not
had our program in the last three years.
Other Options: In addition to the two music education assemblies above, we are open to using some or all
funds towards a summer concert; similar to the one we performed for The City in August 2014. The
proposed concert would be in the same format as the August 2014 performance, but would have different
repertoire, which would consist of musical theatre, opera, or operetta or a combination of all three.
Estimated number of people in Newport Beach that the proposed project(s) will serve: approximately
1,500.
1.Briefly describe below your organization’s purpose, mission, and goals.
Established in 1997, Southland Sings is a creative organization that uses the arts to unlock potential in every
life we reach. Our purpose is to bring opera, musical theatre, theatre and vocal instruction into Southern
California classrooms and the community. Our experienced teaching artists and professional cast performers
are dedicated to providing highly acclaimed residencies, professional development and performances to local
classrooms and audiences.
Our connection to Southern California communities is strong. Through extensive collaboration with schools,
districts, cities and counties we adapt our program curriculum to insure the highest level of relevancy to each
school’s site specific academic goals, enabling us to bring relevant learning workshops and performances to
schools and classrooms. Over 60% of our program delivery is directed to at-risk student populations where
there is a need for arts education and arts enhanced curriculum learning.
Our goal is to provide relevant and responsive programming to Southern California students, teachers and
families; we have developed a dynamic collaboration with several California agencies (Ability First, the
Braille Institute and Kennedy Center VSA, to name a few) to improve our delivery models and to insure that
our curriculum and assessment designs are up-to-date with Department of Education requirements. These
collaborations have enabled us to align our programs with the California State Department of Education
(CDE) VAPA standards and to integrate the CDE goals for Common Core and 21st Century learning
initiatives through the California Arts Project. Through these partnerships we continue to meet our goal to
strengthen program delivery in mainstream classrooms as well as campuses and facilities for Special
Education, At Risk and High Risk students. 2.Identify and describe why there is a need in the Newport Beach Community for your proposed project/program.
Include a quantitative description of the need and on what you based your findings; describe how you have determined
that your organization is the best organization for the proposed project/program.
Each year, while on campus, we dialogue with teachers and administrators to determine how best to serve
their school. We discuss arts programming and the need to enhance what arts program they may already
have. Often, students receive some instruction, but the sessions are short and infrequent.
Due to massive budget cuts in the arts, schools turn to organizations like Southland Sings to fill the void in
arts education. Even though there is ample evidence of the benefits of arts education, it is often the first to be
cut whenever there are economic difficulties. “The arts are a major area of human cognition, one of the ways
in which we know about the world and express our knowledge. Much of what is said in the arts cannot be
said in another way. To withhold artistic means of understanding is as much a malpractice as to withhold
mathematics. . . Since schools traditionally develop only linguistic and logical/mathematical skills, they are
missing and enormous opportunity to develop the whole child.” Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate
School of Education. With our non profit sites like Environmental Science Center, they offer a program for
students to come to their site as part of a camp and they don’t have a budget for arts programming; they are
always appreciative of having our show and tell us that they would otherwise not be able to afford the
program.
Southland Sings continues to be one of the leading organizations to deliver programs to the City of Newport
Beach. We have a consistent track record with the City and we continue to expand our programming and
partnerships. We now offer five different assemblies and 6 to 20 week songwriting residencies throughout
Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Our current partnerships include: The Warner Grand Theatre, ABC
Unified, Los Angeles Unified, The City of Duarte (gang prevention program through the arts), ACCESS
Orange County (serving three Orange County incarcerated youth sites at Rio Contiguo, Otto A. Fischer
School [Juvenile Hall], and Joplin Youth Center).
Our workshops and programs are funded by several different supporters including The Getty, California Arts
Council Artists in Schools Program, Don Knabe Arts Education Partnership Program, The City of Los
Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, The Kennedy Center VSA and the Los Angeles County Arts
Commission. The strong backing we continue to receive is a testament to the high quality of our programs
and the financial stability of our company.
3. Describe the specific project/program that will be funded by a cultural grant. Include how the
proposed project/program will be implemented, and outline a schedule or project timeline, with
planned dates and locations. Identify individuals and groups involved, particularly artists and
performers, and describe their roles and responsibilities. Describe the background and qualifications
of your organization and key personnel to be involved in the program.
Is this a new__ or existing __X_ project/program? Existing program
Southland Sings proposes to perform a total of seven music assemblies of Adventures in Song and Story
and/or Operetta! A World Tour. These assemblies will be offered to all six elementary schools within the city
limits of Newport Beach (Andersen, Eastbluff, Mariners, Newport Coast, Newport, and Newport Heights),
the Newport Beach Library, the Environmental Nature Center, ExplorOcean and the Orange County
Museum of Art in Newport Beach.
Timeline: Upon approval all sites will be contacted immediately and dates will be set and confirmed.
Preference will be given to sites that have not had our program in the last three years. All performances will
be completed within the grant period. The audiences for these sites are children, grades K-6.
Adventures in Song and Story is a literacy-based program that uses familiar fairy tales and classic stories to
introduce students to opera and musical theater. The stories include: Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Little
Red Riding Hood, The Sound of Music, The Mikado, and Hansel and Gretel.
Operetta! A World Tour teaches students about operettas from all over the world, including Spain, France,
England, Austria, and America. This brightly costumed and highly interactive show is a great way to
introduce students to a lighter form of opera that is very approachable and fun.
The performers for the both programs are Ann Noriel and Carol Winston. They sing as well as narrate the
performances. Both artists have extensive experience in musical performance for adult, student and family
audiences, as well as many years experience teaching music to both adults and children. Carol Winston and
Ann Noriel work extensively with Southland Sings’ educational outreach, performing and teaching
workshops. Ann Noriel works as a teaching artist, teaching over 300 workshops a year for Southland Sings.
Both Ms. Noriel and Ms. Winston have performed with Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, Ballet San Jose,
Opera a la Carte and several other local arts organizations.
Southland Opera has an 18-year history of delivering programs. Since 1997 we have delivered over 9,000
workshops and performances to over one and a half million people.
4. Define or describe the segment of the population in Newport Beach that you intend to serve by your
project/program. Include such things, as age, location, numbers served, etc.
Southland Opera will serve elementary school students grades K-6 within the city of Newport Beach. The
estimated number of students per school performance is 150 to 325 students per performance (depending on
the size of the school auditorium). The audience estimate for the non profit sites like Newport Beach
Library and the Environmental Science Center are 50 per performance. These venues have smaller seating
capacity compared to the school settings. The $3,600 grant will fund a total of seven performances.
If a concert is funded, we would be serving a range of 800-1,000 Newport Beach citizens of all ages from
children through adult.
5. Complete the project budget form.
Performances of Adventures in Song and Story/ Operetta! A World Tour
**PROJECT BUDGET
Adventures in Song and Story
Funding from the
City of Newport Beach
Funding from
Other Sources
EXPENSES-Personnel
Artistic Artist fees and Artistic
Director
3,000 200
Administrative 0 360
Technical Production 300
EXPENSES-Operating
Facility Expense/Space Rental 0
Marketing 0 50
Production/Exhibition
Expense
0 200
Touring/Presentation Expense 0
Educational Materials 0 100
Transportation 300
Equipment Set and costume
maintenance 0 200
Other (if greater than 10%,
annotate below)
0
GRAND TOTAL 3,600 1110
**If the City of Newport Beach wishes to consider a concert with this funding then a budget for a Concert
performance will be available upon request
6. Describe the expected quantifiable outcomes of your project/program and how you will evaluate
the results. Be very specific in addressing the ways that you will determine that your
project/program met the needs that you identified and accomplishes the goals you set out to achieve
(i.e. you provide 50 hours of musical instruction and instruments to the 100 children at Newport
Elementary school as measured by music store rental receipts and logs of instructors).
Teachers who attend the performances will be given an evaluation questionnaire at the end of the
presentation, which will capture feedback about all of the outcomes. Through this questionnaire, teachers
can assess such aspects as enjoyment, concentration and understanding of the performance, as seen by
each child.
Teachers have access to show information on our website at www.southlandsings.org Teachers can
discuss the presentation in the classroom to elicit evaluation feedback about the program. This feedback
promotes immediate interpersonal dialogue between the teacher and children and gives Southland Sings
valuable information that we use to refine our offerings.
Teachers are also encouraged to have their students write letters and ask the younger ones to draw
pictures telling Southland Sings what they thought of the show. Some of the questions asked are: “What
was your favorite part?” “Was there anything you did not like, and if so, what was it?” and “What did
you learn from this presentation?”
After each show the performers talk with the children. There is also an extensive question and answer
period during the show. Interaction between the performers and the students occurs throughout the show.
There are even sections in the performance where students are invited onto the stage to perform with the
actors. As the performers and children interact during the performance, adjustments are made to
accommodate the children. For example, if there is a certain concept the kids have trouble grasping, the
performers will focus more time on that idea until the children understand it.
7. Attachments requested
Please do not send material in excess of what is requested; it will not be seen by the Arts Commission.
•A list of Board Members and their affiliations
•A recent list of individuals, corporations and foundations that provide organizational support- not to
exceed one page.
•If you are a 501( c)(3) organization attach a copy of your IRS determination letter (or your fiscal
agent’s) indicating tax exempt status.
•One brochure and/or one press clipping. Do not send photos, videos, CDs or any other extraneous
material. It will not be presented to the Arts Commission.
8.Please complete this operating budget form for 2015-16 and 2016-17. This is not the
project/program budget for which you are applying, but your overall organizational budget.
You may annotate at the bottom if there are details critical to the proposal.
OPERATING BUDGET
2015/2016 Budget (current) 2016/2017 (projected)
I. Income (cash only)
Contributed 85,000 85000
Earned 100000 110000
Total Income 185,000 195,000
II. Expenses
Program 125,000 135,000
General and Administrative 30,000 30,000
Marketing and Development 30,000 30,000
Total Expenses 185,000 195,000
III. Operating Surplus/Deficit
(Income minus Expenses)
0 0
IV. Fund Balance at
Beginning of Year
**80,000 **80,000
V. Accumulated Surplus
(Deficit)
(Add lines III and IV)
0 0
VI. In-Kind Contributions
(attach schedule if greater than
10% of total income)
6,000 6,000
**Southland Sings must keep a 80,000 dollar cash balance to cover payroll expense. There is up to
a six month turn over time before being paid by some school districts. This money enables
Southland Sings to pay the artists in a timely manner.
Southland Sings
September 2015
Southland Sings Board of Directors
Board Chair
Merrily Newton
Chief Financial Officer (Retired)
Entertainment Industries Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
Board Treasurer
Tamara Gurney
President
Mission Valley Bank, Valencia/Sun Valley CA
Board Secretary
Jason Barabba
Composer, Silver Lake, CA
Director
Kathleen Dillon
Owner/ Attorney
Law and Mediation Offices of Kathleen J. Dillon
Altadena, CA
Director
Jaque Sanders
Special Education Teacher (Retired)
Duarte Unified, CA
Director
Chris Thurin
President
Endowment Associates Laguna Beach, CA
Director
Ann Noriel
Founder and President
Southland Opera, Duarte CA
Southland
Sings,
September
2015
SOUTHLAND
SINGS
RECENT
SUPPORTERS
and
Partners
•California
Arts
Council-‐
Juvenile
Jump
Starts
Grant
and
Artists
in
Schools
Grant
•Kennedy
Center
VSA
•VSA
California
•ACCESS
Orange
County
•Endowment
Associates
•Los
Angeles
County
Arts
Commission
–
OGP
Grant
•Social
Venture
Partners
•ABC
Unified
•Southland
Sings
Board
of
Directors
•Supervisor
Don
Knabe
Arts
Education
Partnership
Program
•The
Los
Angeles
Unified
School
District
•The
City
of
Duarte
(Cal
Grip
Grant,
Gang
Prevention
through
Arts).
•The
City
of
Fontana
•The
City
of
Los
Angeles
Department
of
Cultural
Affairs
•The
City
of
Newport
Beach
•The
Getty
•Walmart
•Weingart
Foundation
City of Newport Beach Arts Commission
Cultural Arts Grant Project Completion Report
(Please type report)
DUE by September 25, 2015
Name of Organization: Southland Sings (Formerly Southland Opera)
Mailing Address: 450 Tocino Drive Duarte, CA 91010
Telephone: 626-357-9156 Fax:
Person Preparing Report: Ann Noriel Phone: 626-357-9156
Grant Project Funded: Six performances of Adventures in Song and Story. Four of the shows
were performed at two Newport Beach schools in the Newport Mesa School District; the other
two performances were held at the Environmental Science Center in Newport Beach.
Effective dates in this report: November 25, 2014 - September 25th, 2015
Period covered in this report: November 25, 2014 - September 25th, 2015
1. Please describe the effectiveness of your grant projects in terms of:
• The size and composition for the target group reached
Southland Sings delivered a total of six performances of Adventures in Song and Story to three
City of Newport Beach sites:
Site One: Two performances on April 7, 2015 at the Environmental Science Center at 1601 East
16th Street, Newport Beach. The audience consisted of 100 students grades K-6 who were part of
the summer camp program.
Site Two: Two performances on April 27th, 2015 at Newport Heights Elementary at 300 East
15th Street, Newport Beach. The audience consisted of 650 students, grades K-5, their classroom
teachers and school staff.
Site Three: Two performances on May 11, 2015 at Anderson Elementary at 1900 Port
Seabourne Way, Newport Beach. The audience consisted of 400 K-5 students, their classroom
teachers and school staff.
• Conformity to the planned time framework: All work was completed by May 11, 2015, well
within the grant period.
• The theme of the project:
Adventures in Song and Story is a literacy-based program that uses familiar fairy tales and
stories as a way to introduce students to opera and musical theater. The stories include:
Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Little Red Riding Hood, The Sound of Music, The Mikado, and
Hansel and Gretel. All songs are fully costumed with set and props; the entire performance
encourages participation from the student audience. The students all learn and perform parts of
two songs and a simple dance. Student volunteers are chosen to join the performers on stage
and perform.
• The allocation of funds to date: All of the grant money was utilized in paying all artist fees
and production costs.
The educational service provided is a highly interactive music education assembly that
emphasizes the importance of reading and also educates students about musical theatre and
opera. The students learn that many composers used familiar fairy tales and Shakespearean plays
as inspiration for their music. (Some examples include: Stephen Sondheim- Into the Woods,
Rodgers and Hammerstein- Cinderella, Engelbert Humperdinck- Hansel and Gretel.) Students
from the audience are selected to join the artists on stage and participate in some of the musical
numbers and the entire audience participates in singing along with several of the musical
numbers (It’s a Grand Night for Singing, Do-Re-Mi and the Hansel and Gretel Dance Duet).
• The composition of the professional staff rendering these services
The performers for Adventures in Song and Story are singers, Ann Noriel and Carol Winston.
Both artists have extensive musical performing experience for adult and family audiences. In
addition to their stage experience, they have taught singing to both adults and children for many
years.
Ann Noriel- President of Southland Sings, has over twenty years experience as a performer and
as a teacher of music for elementary age students. She tours nationally as a principal artist with
Opera a la Carte in all of their major productions and highlights concerts. Some of her roles
include Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Tessa in The Gondoliers, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, The
Plaintiff in Trial by Jury and Eliza in The Zoo. She has also performed with Opera Pacific,
singing on their main stage as well as performing lead roles in Cinderella, Cosi Fan Tutte, Guys
and Dolls and Oklahoma! with their Overture Company.
Ms. Noriel has worked with Los Angeles Opera’s Community Programs, performing the lead
role in the world premiere of The Letter. She recently did a residency at the University of
California, Irvine (UCI) playing Edith Fromage in the world premiere of 'dentity Crisis by
composer Jason V. Barabba.
Carol Winston has worked with Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, Southland Opera, Guild
Opera and Orange County Opera in their outreach programs for students, singing such diverse
roles as “Little Red Riding Hood” (Barab), “Marie” (Daughter of the Regiment), “Gretel”
(Hansel and Gretel), “Ginger” (The Night Harry Stopped Smoking) and “Sugah” (Indy Jo and
the Pyramid of Food). She originated the title role of “Estrella” in Guild Opera’s bilingual
children’s opera and has performed in Zarzuelas with the Jarvis Conservatory in Napa.
2. Please describe how you evaluated the program, and what measures you have initiated to
improve the project in the future. Teachers who attend the performances are given an
evaluation questionnaire at the end of the presentation, which captures feedback about all of the
outcomes. Through this questionnaire we can assess such aspects as enjoyment, concentration
and understanding of the performance, as seen by each child. We are also in constant dialogue
with school staff and the students to discuss any modifications/adaptations needed in order to
deliver our program successfully.
We also request that the student and teacher audiences follow us on Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook and we ask them to leave comments about our performance through social media.
3.Please add any other comments you feel are appropriate.
We wish to thank you, City of Newport Beach Arts Commission, for your continued support.
You are one of Southland Sings’ first funders and your faith in us has been an encouragement
and an inspiration.
4.Please attach relevant press clippings, brochures, photos, etc. which demonstrate how
your project was completed or is in process.
Attached is the flyer for our assembly Adventures in Song and Story.
Adventures in Song and Story
A musical assembly presented by
Southland Sings
Southland Sings is dedicated to bringing excellent productions with high artistic
standards to children and adults.
In this live, musical performance, children will:
•Learn a dance with Hansel and Gretel
•Meet the Three Little Maids from the Mikado
•Lament with the dear, sweet, evil stepsisters because Cinderella stole their
prince.
•Sing a song with Maria from The Sound of Music
And much,much more!!
Adventures in Song and Story is a musical assembly that uses familiar
fairy tales and stories as a way to introduce children to operas, musicals
and operetta. This two-person show is fully costumed, fast paced,
engaging and educational.
Adventures in Song and Story acquaints children with three very popular
vocal music art forms in an approachable, fun way.
The show includes: costumes, two singers, set, sound system and
recorded, instrumental accompaniment.
Contact Ann Noriel or
Carol Winston
Southland Opera
450 Tocino Drive
Duarte, CA 91010
www.southlandsings.org
Email: acnoriel@mac.com
We also offer the musical assemblies: Mission Nutrition, The Night Harry Stopped Smoking,
and Indy Jo and the Template of Health.
Phone: 626-357-9156