
24/25 Holland Highlights
Reflections on the work and daily wonders of the Holland Community Opera Fellowship
1/30/25
For our first HCOF workshop of 2025, we kicked things off with programming at the Sarpy County Juvenile Justice Center (SJJC). SJJC is a 30-bed, staff-secure housing facility that provides a variety of services for youth ages 12-19 years old and involved in the juvenile justice system. We love having the opportunity to provide a safe space for teens to express themselves and try new things, and also have some light-hearted fun and engage with opera and play at the forefront.
Our groups at SJJC are always brimming with imagination! This month, we explored visual art, problem solving, and the power of words - all things that show up in the elements of opera! The youth were led through a “Shark Tank” activity where we tasked groups with reimagining and rebranding a mundane household item, such as an umbrella or a coffee mug. Their job was to rename and redesign the item, create a slogan, and then think of new uses for the item. Youth had to come up with a 30 second elevator pitch to present and “sell” their invention to the group. This activity was a blast! The workshops were full of laughter and positive shoutouts amongst the youth for everyone’s innovative thinking. In fact, the groups had so much fun that EVERY participant repeated the activity a second time!
I am always blown away by the creative minds over at SJJC and I’m so grateful that we are able provide them with a healthy artistic outlet through the Fellowship. We always leave feeling so inspired ourselves. Needless to say, I’ll never look at my plain coffee mug the same way again! I’m so excited to continue our work with SJJC through the Spring and see what other discoveries the youth make about their own creativity.
-Aiden James Poling, Holland Community Opera Fellow
1/2/25
At the end of November, the Holland Community Opera Fellowship team had the privilege of participating in the Learning Community Center (LCC) of South Omaha's Family Days. LCC, who focuses on providing educational resources to parents and young children, hosted two fun-filled days where families explored and shared what they are thankful for this holiday season. Another Fellow and I led a story time in both English and Spanish that helped our younger participants think of all the things they have to be grateful for. Sharing stories and reading to children is one of my greatest joys in life, and I always have a blast with the children at LCC. Their excitement is contagious, and it was especially so during Family Days. It was a particularly poignant way to spend the days leading up to Thanksgiving and served as a reminder to never take for granted the small things in life that bring us joy and that we should always be grateful for.
-Rosemary Joyce, Holland Community Opera Fellow
11/27/24
This week we continued exploring the world of opera with our friends at QLI, a world-class rehabilitation center for adults who have experienced a brain or spinal cord injury. In our first workshop, we focused on writing our own operatic arias about autumn. To prepare for this, we listened to various famous aria examples, warmed up our voices, learned various musical terms, and discussed the importance of textual and musical choices used to evoke different emotions. Participants had the opportunity to not only write the text for their aria, but select the tempo (fast or slow), key (major or minor), and language that would best communicate their message. It was an honor to be part of the creative process with our friends at QLI!
-Alejandra Sandoval-Montañez, Holland Community Opera Fellow
10/31/24
A few weeks ago, the Holland Community Opera Fellowship was grateful to participate in OPA's Voices Amplified event highlighting the importance of supporting individuals who have disabilities and celebrating their art in the community. Several Fellowship partners including Gotta Be Me, QLI, and the Ollie Webb Center, Inc. were featured as well, performing and sharing original paintings and artwork. I was reminded throughout the event's activities and conversations that we are lucky to collaborate with these organizations as they do great work in the community. We are also incredibly privileged to develop relationships with their participants through our workshops. One participant from Ollie Webb Center, Inc. shared that our workshops have helped him expand his creativity, think differently, and make bigger choices in his performances! What a success to celebrate!
-Wendy Kaiser, Holland Community Opera Fellowship Manager
9/26/24
This week, we are super excited to have kicked-off our workshop series with MICAH House, an organization in Council Bluffs that provides a nurturing environment for families and individuals experiencing the crisis of homelessness. We have the pleasure of working with an incredible group of women and encouraging them to explore their own creative instincts, as well as discover the unique stories and perspectives they bring to the table.
Our group dipped their toes into the art-making process through the creation of mood boards and collages. We learned how this type of visual format helps designers, directors, and other creatives organize and communicate our own creative thoughts, and how it provides a space for us to share what inspires us. Every collage was so beautiful! Many folks filled their boards with positive affirmations and their personal goals for the future—like traveling to the beach or climbing the mountain peaks in Aspen. Others used the mood boards to showcase their sense of humor and personalities. Many of the participants remarked about how excited they were to take their mood boards with them and continue working on them in their free time!
It was an absolute joy to spend time creating works of art with this group and learning a little about every individual along the way. I can’t wait to see what other creative sparks flourish for them during our activities in all the workshops to come!
-Aiden James Poling, Holland Community Opera Fellow