The Jarvis Conservatory

Utilizing a grant from the Jarvis family the Conservatory began operation in Napa, California in July 1995, providing training and support for artists. The Conservatory is dedicated to serious art forms, and at the same time, art forms relating to the large Hispanic community of Napa.

The annual Zarzuela workshop has become a vehicle for training performers in an intensive multi-disciplinary program and is an ideal vehicle to initiate people of all backgrounds to the fine arts. In addition to the usual theatergoer, this brings in the young and the Hispanic people, and those who can't afford the theater. Since 1995, seven Zarzuela (Spanish opera) workshops and four Baroque Ballet workshops have been conducted, all with multi-week training in the areas of voice, dance, acting, stage movement and language for the artists involved. More than 350 artists have participated in the workshops.

Baroque Ballet workshops have been conducted utilizing authentic choreography, masking, costumes and music. The New York Public Library participated in videotaping the latest production for their dance archives as well as doing a documentary of the workshop leading up to the performance. This program was also aided by the National Endowment for the Arts who made a grant to assist in recording the production. Production credits to the New York Baroque Dance Company.

Performances that are staged at the Jarvis Conservatory are professionally videotaped and the videos are made available to public broadcast stations, educational institutions and libraries. Numerous productions have been uplinked via satellite to PBS stations throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Saturday Opera Night brings together singers from around the San Francisco Bay Area on the first Saturday of each month, offering them exposure to a live audience and the ambience of a professional theater. Singers are professionally accompanied on the piano while the members of the audience experience a fun evening showcasing many different styles of singing.

Other activities of the Jarvis Conservatory include workshops and performances in chamber music and puppetry. Since 1994, the Jarvis Conservatory has conducted Opera Appreciation classes with Conservatory Instructor, Maestro Hugo Rinaldi. In 1999 the Conservatory began its annual Holiday Choral Ensemble featuring Bay Area High School Choirs.

For more information, visit www.jarvisconservatory.com