FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE COMMISSIONING OF RIMA FAND FOR PRECIPICE RECEIVED FUNDING FROM OPERA AMERICA'S OPERA GRANTS FOR FEMALE COMPOSERS PROGRAM, SUPPORTED BY THE VIRGINIA B. TOULMIN FOUNDATION


June 30, 2020

Brooklyn, NY — The OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers: Commissioning Grants program panel has awarded The American Opera Project $9,000 toward the commissioning of Rima Fand for the creation and premiere of Precipice, an object theatre/chamber opera . The grants support the creation of new theatrical works by women who compose for the trained voice and instrumental ensemble.

OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Female Composers program provides financial assistance to identify, support, and help develop the work of female composers writing for the operatic medium, raising their visibility and promoting awareness of their compositions to the field. Funding for this program is provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Program for Commissioning Women in the Performing Arts.

More information about Opera America's Grants for Female Composers program can be found at
ABOUT RIMA FAND & PRECIPICE
Rima Fand:
Rima Fand is a Brooklyn-based composer, musician and vocalist with a passion for multi-disciplinary performance. She has created music for perform ances rangin g from experimental puppet theater to large-scale tableau vivant to contemporary musical theater to clown shows. She has also played in numerous creative musical ensembles, including the raucous string band Luminescent Orchestrii, with whom she toured internationally for a decade, and currently Sherita, a Balkan-inspired acoustic quartet, as well as Hydra, a women's a cappella trio.
 


More information about Rima Fand can be found at www.rimafand.com
Precipice:
Precipice , an object theatre/chamber opera, sets an intimate story of one young woman's struggle to find her authentic voice in the epic landscape of America’s mountain west. By drawing parallels between environmental and emotional damage, Precipice looks at how we are silenced and exiled, and at how we find our way to connection, both with each other and in the natural world.

(Alice Tolan-Mee in AOP's February 2020 workshop of Precipice )

More information about Precipice can be found at www.aopopera.org/precipice
ABOUT THE AMERICAN OPERA PROJECT
Founded in 1988, The American Opera Project (AOP) has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. Its works have received critical acclaim at opera companies and venues around the world, establishing a new musical canon that recognizes the operatic story in every life. 

AOP's mission is to develop and present new and innovative works of lyric theater, provide a creative home to emerging and established artists, and engage contemporary communities in a transformative operatic experience.  

Press for AOP:
"known for bringing cutting-edge vocal productions to the masses" — New York
"a perfect first exposure to opera." — Time Out NY
"Bravo to AOP for supporting such controversial and ultimately important work." — Opera Today
"The future of American opera is in good hands." — Opera News

Media Contact: Meagan Brus, Director of Marketing and Communications
email: mbrus@aopopera.org
Press material is available at: www.aopopera.org/about
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