Portland Opera merges outreach with nonprofit Opera Quest Northwest

Published 1:29 pm Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Portland Opera, which moved to World Trade Center already in 2025, has expanded its education and community outreach by merging with Vancouver, Washington nonprofit Opera Quest Northwest.

Opera Quest has brought live operatic music into elementary schools throughout Southwest Washington. The two organizations formally merged earlier this year. Opera Quest’s program “Opera the Great!” blends classic opera excerpts with a humorous, interactive script. Five young professional singers play typical opera characters to teach young audiences about opera history, stories, and famous melodies.

Starting in 2012, Opera Quest performed the program for hundreds of third through fifth graders in Clark and Cowlitz counties. When the pandemic paused live performances, Opera Quest created videos for music teachers to use based on themes from the show.

Portland Opera’s cornerstone outreach program is Portland Opera to Go (POGO). For more than 20 years, the company has performed 50-minute versions of operas like “Cinderella” and “The Magic Flute” at middle schools, high schools, and community centers.

In the past two years, Portland Opera has commissioned new youth operas that highlight the experiences of Oregonian women. 2024’s opera was the acclaimed “Shizue: An American Story.” The opera illuminates the life of Shizue Iwatsuki, who overcame imprisonment in a World War II concentration camps to become an community leader and inspiring artist. POGO travels over 5,000 miles throughout Oregon and southern Washington to bring its performances to students and educators.

Portland Opera also oversees an arts integrated curriculum and classroom visits, along with virtual lesson plans and activities for distance learning.

“We are excited to be able to oversee the Opera Quest show and videos as a complement to our outreach programs,” said Alexis Hamilton, Portland Opera’s Manager of Education and Community Engagement. “This new resource will help us reach younger audiences and a broader geographic region, and o\er a wonderful new performing opportunity for our resident artists.”

Opera Quest’s former leadership is also enthusiastic about the merger. “Joining with Portland Opera is the logical next step in achieving our mission,” said Barbara Choltco, former board chair. “Pooling our resources with this respected organization will bring new opportunities for the children of our region to experience the excitement of classical music. We both believe that the arts are an essential part of every student’s development.”

More: portlandopera.org/education.