We Support

The Vancouver Opera Guild supports opera training and performance

To fulfill its mission to encourage opera and young opera professionals, the VOG provides financial support to:

  • Vancouver Opera
    The Vancouver Opera Association offers a variety of opera productions annually, as well as educational programming for all ages. Vancouver Opera recognizes its generous partners who share and support its commitment to the community.
  • UBC School of Music
    Thanks to generous donor support, the UBC School of Music provides outstanding performers, teachers, and researchers with a world-class environment in which to practice their art. The school recognizes the critical role music plays in creating a civil and sustainable society, and with VOG’s help, is actively engaged in training the cultural leaders of tomorrow.

The VOG supports young opera professionals

The Vancouver Opera Guild established the annual Career Development Grant in 1982 with the objective of providing financial assistance for young Canadians who intend making a career in opera. The Awards Committee administers the grant; the competition is adjudicated by a panel of three judges selected from prominent and well-respected members of the operatic/artistic community.

The purpose of the Career Development Grant is to assist young singers and those involved in the technical or production areas of opera (stage direction, set design, costume design, lighting, sound, etc.) who are preparing for a career in opera, by helping them financially so that they can improve their skills or work on a personal project related to opera. The grant is not available to students for the completion of a degree. It is designed to assist those not yet fully established in a professional career.

The VOG supports students studying opera

Financial support is given to promising students at both the University of British Columbia School of Music, Opera and Voice Division, and the Vancouver Academy of Music. Students are selected on their academic standing, voice potential and financial need.

The VOG also produces the annual Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Western Region Auditions every fall, a competition for singers up to age 30, the winners of which will go on to the Laffont Auditions in Seattle; winners there go to the semi-finals at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.