ABOUT

My name is Layla Felder and I saw my first opera when I was 3 years old and I have loved opera ever since.  As of October 6, 2013, I have seen 60 opera to date.   I started the Kids Opera & Art Posse because I think that not only elderly people should be sitting at the opera.  I think people of every age should be sitting in the audience watching opera because lots of people used to do it when they didn’t have movies.  I invited my friends to be in this club because when they grow up, they will still like operas, and will take their kids to operas, and so on, and opera will keep going hopefully until the end of time.  Before I started this club, my mom had only seen 3 operas in her entire life, and my dad had only seen 2.  When I started the club, my mom was coming because I needed her to take me to the operas.  Now she is just as excited as I am about the opera and we enjoy every single one together.

I included art in the club because I like to go to the museums, I love drawing and I want to become a better artist.  Being exposed to other artists enables you to have a variety of art and drawing styles.  I also like to see art from around the world.  I wanted our club to have docent led tours because the docents are nice and ask us questions that we never would have thought of on our own.  They give us a lot of information about art and artists.  They help us understand what the artist was thinking when they made the pieces, and what the artists wanted the viewers to think about when they are viewing their pieces.  I like to go to lectures because you can see different types of art and and you can get good advice from the artist and get good information from the questions people in the audience ask.

I want to raise money for The MET: HD Live in Schools Programs because not all kids have parents who will take them to see the opera.  This will help more kids get exposed to operas.  We have an annual fundraiser called the Ring Cycle Endurance Walk.  It is a prepaid 5K walk around Chastain Park.  This year we raised over $5,000 for the HD Live in Schools Program.

By keeping an eye on my mission below, I hope that we will continue to spread the love of opera and art to many more kids across the country.

MISSION:

  • To bring together my friends with a true interest in Opera and Art, and to encourage and develop confidence in those interests
  • To practice speaking your mind, sharing views and opinions, and respecting others and their opinions
  • To create and inspire the next generation of opera patrons
  • To create and inspire the next generation of artists and art patrons
  • Raise money for the Metropolitan Opera
  • Support the High Museum, Local Galleries, and Local Artists
  • Support Atlanta Opera