Little Opera is an after-school arts mentoring program in San Francisco that brings together K-8 students from diverse backgrounds to write, compose, design, rehearse, and perform original opera. We believe education should be as diverse as our cities, and arts education should be as rich as our students' imaginations. Here’s what we’re building: 1. A diverse community Despite being one of the most progressive cities in the United States, San Francisco’s students are more segregated than ever — 30% attend a school dominated by a single race or ethnic group. Our students deserve better, which is why we bring students of all backgrounds and abilities together to build a community that’s as diverse as our city is. 2. Ambitiously comprehensive arts education Students experience 6 art forms (music composition, writing, singing, acting, dance, and design) as they create their final masterpiece: A Little Opera. While this might sound extravagant, opera just means ‘work’, and that’s exactly what our students do! 3. 100% Student Imagined "Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” –Carl Sagan We encourage our students to go beyond their own lives, and into their imagination. Why? Because a future you can't imagine is a future you will never reach. Founded by Bay Area teaching artist and playwright Erin Bregman, Little Opera opened its doors in the fall of 2011.