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NEW ORLEANS — East St. John High School graduates Bryce Carter and Noah Williams are among the young, imaginative artists who strive to give a voice to the voiceless at the University of New Orleans.

Believing UNO should reflect the rich culture of the city, Carter was dismayed to see an endless amount of undiscovered talent among student musicians, producers, vocalists, filmmakers and visual artists.

Carter, a 2018 Wildcats graduate, became vice president of a new student organization called Encore. Along with group president Marvin Bryant, Carter plans to give exposure to student artists in an annual event called OPUS.

OPUS is a word used to describe any artistic work, especially on a large scale. The public is invited to attend the free inaugural show from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the University of New Orleans Robert E. Nims Theatre, located at 2000 Lakeshore Drive. Doors open with free food at 6 p.m., and the live performances will be streamed via Instagram and Facebook @UNOENCORE.

The 2020 OPUS theme is “Falling in and out of love.”

Carter and Williams helped organize the event, and they will take the stage to deliver vocal performances.

“We decided we need to put on something to show everyone this is a really cool and talented school,” Carter said. “We created OPUS to show everybody’s talent, not just for musicians but also actors, filmmakers, photographers. It’s all about art.”

Williams, a 2019 Wildcats graduate, dreams of becoming a director. He was exposed to the field in high school, where he worked on several media arts projects with teacher Derron Cook.

Those experiences prepared him for college life and inspired him to connect with peers who have shared interests.

“From a mental perspective, I was totally prepared for taking on a bigger role,” Williams said. “I think my education with the St. John Parish public school system has prepared me for so many other things out of the classroom. Working with Mr. Cook taught me a lot about leadership and responsibility. I’m able to incorporate all of that into the Encore organization.”

Williams said OPUS is an opportunity to showcase talent. While Louisiana has no shortage of talent and success stories, there is a lack of resources involved in introducing new artists to the industry.

OPUS would not be possible without collaboration from a wide array of artists, according to UNO student Travis Turner.

In the past couple of months, Encore has coordinated photo shoots, printed posters and formed connections with producers to access recording studios. Student artists have worked on lighting for the show, and filmmakers created videos to share with the public.

Growing up, Turner could always be found singing Michael Jackson to himself or playing piano in the garage. Now, he is preparing to perform in front of his peers.

“My parents knew my talent, and they always wanted me to do something with it. This is an opportunity for me to get out there,” Turner said. “I’m a shy person. I don’t really sing in front of people, but this can bring me out of that (shell). I need to experience performing in front of others so I can go far some day.”

Jordan Fegert is Encore’s producer/engineer, and Malik Martin is an artist in the group.

“I think a few years down the line, OPUS will be a bigger event,” Martin said. “I think the event will spew more into the city with bigger venues and more audiences.”

Williams agrees with Martin’s assessment.

“We’ve gotten it done this year with so little resources,” Martin said. “It brings so much optimism to think if we did have the tools and the resources, we would expound on everything we have now. We have nothing but confidence and hope that we can take this thing to the next level.”