WHAT IS OPUS?

• Opus partners with the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) in California, providing professionally specialized teaching artists, free instrument loans and supplies, and summer camp opportunities. Additionally, Opus students are granted free tuition in the San Diego Youth Symphony's instrumental music programs for youth, if they choose to continue their musical studies after elementary school.
• The Opus Project has served as a catalyst for 15 years, instigating systemic change through program implementation.
• In addition to a variety of community and funding partnerships, the program has also customized a collaborative research initiative with the University of California San Diego’s Center for Human Development to learn how music education affects children’s brain development and cognitive skills.
• Working with district leaders, schools, parents, and community partners, The Opus Project has been a catalyst for the return of music (and funding for arts education) to over 30,000 children in California’s largest elementary school district.
• Opus is an authentic and affirming space to cultivate joy, curiosity, and empathy through the music-making process. The National Endowment for the Arts and Grantmakers in the Arts have both recognized and promoted the unique nature of the SDYS/CVESD partnership; and the NAMM Foundation, the California Alliance for Arts Education, and the League of American Orchestras have provided platforms for SDYS to share our work. Opus now serves as a model for other programs around the nation and inspires our continued work here at home through our new Opus sites in CVESD.
• San Diego Youth Symphony's The Opus Project turns fifteen this year!