Did you hear about the Fort Worth Opera?
Did you hear about the Fort Worth Opera? It’s no surprise if you did, the FWOpera’s Marketing and Communications department was honored in November with the “Communicator of the Year” Award by the Center for Nonprofit Management (CMN) at their annual “Night of Light” ceremony in Dallas. Held at the Meyerson Symphony Center, the yearly event recognizes and celebrates nonprofit excellence in North Texas. FWOpera’s Marketing and Communications department was among three organizations named as finalists for the prize, along with 29Pieces and Real School Gardens.
FWOpera’s Marketing Department received the “Communicator of the Year” Award in recognition for its grassroots marketing and social media efforts to develop the company’s Opera Shots program and was the only cultural institution to receive an award from the CMN. Opera Shots works to take great classical music out of the concert hall and into locales where patrons are less likely to have experienced Tosca or Madame Butterfly, such as local bars. During these informal two-hour performances, singers from FWOpera’s Studio Artist program, together with members of the FWOpera Festival chorus, serenade audiences with a selection of recognizable arias and duets, often times giving listeners their first taste of opera.
Opera Shots has grown fromvaudiences of 30-40 people to more than 200 listeners per performance, according to FWOpera officials. Since FWOpera has only used free platforms to publicize the event, the incredible growth of Opera Shots over the past 5 years has been attributed solely to strategic and creative social media efforts and digital communications such as targeted email marketing.
“It is such an honor to receive this award from the Center for Nonprofit Management and to have been recognized alongside inspiring organizations like 29 Pieces and Real School Gardens who do so much to give back to North Texas,” said FWOpera Director of Marketing and Communications Holland Sanders in accepting the award. “Opera Shots has become such a special program to us because it allows us to engage with our community in our community, bringing the beauty of classical music to them in an accessible and non-intimidating way. Opera Shots has developed a following of people who have discovered opera as a vibrant art form that does not always need a stage, a set, and a full orchestra to be meaningful and enjoyable.”