+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "News"
date = "2018-06-10T12:00:00-04:00"
lastmod = "2018-06-11T10:25:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1528726738539/sqJacquelineKo_1.jpg.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Jacqueline Ko, co-founder of Opera Mariposa and creator of Toward Tomorrow. Photo courtesy of Opera Mariposa."
publishDate = "2018-06-11T10:25:00-04:00"
related_articles = ["articles/requiem-for-a-lost-girl-is-based-on-a-true-story.md","articles/when-art-is-not-enough-opera-activism.md","articles/shining-a-light-toward-tomorrow.md"]
related_companies = ["scene/companies/opera-mariposa.md"]
short_description = "Since starting Opera Mariposa, Ko&#039;s performances have raised over $50,000 in support of treatment, education, and research of chronic neuroimmune disease."
slug = "i-wrote-toward-tomorrow-to-bring-attention-to-this-crisis"
title = "&quot;I wrote Toward Tomorrow to bring attention to this crisis.&quot;"
+++

This month Vancouver's [Opera Mariposa](/scene/companies/opera-mariposa/), a company "run by young artists, for young artists", presents [*Toward Tomorrow*](http://operamariposa.com/schedule), a something-for-everyone event with a great cause.

Opera Mariposa co-founder Jacqueline Ko wrote *Toward Tomorrow* as a way to raise awareness for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (often referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), a disease from which she has suffered since the age of six.

"ME can change your life forever - it definitely did for me," says Ko. "I've read studies that compare ME's impact to multiple sclerosis, late-stage cancer or congestive heart failure. Yet there's barely any research funding, most medical schools don't even teach this disease, and they say as many as 9 out of 10 people aren't even diagnosed. I was lucky in that respect - but even with a diagnosis, we don't fully understand the cause or have a cure."

<figure data-type="image">{{% md %}}![](https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1528726861571/JacquelineKo_promo_1_web.jpg.jpg)
<figcaption>Jacqueline Ko, co-founder of Opera Mariposa.</figcaption>
</figure>

Despite living with ME, Ko has become an acclaimed singer and producer; her story is told in Valerie Free's book, [*Lighting Up a Hidden World: CFS and ME*](http://www.valeriefree.org/). Ko notes that for many with the disease, "symptoms are only half the struggle. The other half is dealing with widespread public misconceptions and a lack of medical support."

Since starting Opera Mariposa, Ko's performances have raised over $50,000 in support of treatment, education, and research of chronic neuroimmune disease.

[*Toward Tomorrow*](http://operamariposa.com/schedule) happens **June 16, 7:30pm**, at Vancouver's Marpole United Church, and it combines operatic arias from *The Magic Flute* and *L'elisir d'amore*, Broadway hits from *Hamilton* and *West Side Story*, and more. Ko will be joined by mezzo-soprano Brittony LeFever, tenor Lyndon Ladeur, and pianist Nina Horvath. 

Plus, the show includes a dessert buffet, and a raffle contest.

"Organizations like the ME/FM Society of BC do amazing work, and I think things are shifting," says Ko, optimistic about the progress she has seen in her own lifetime. "People are waking up to the widespread impact of this disease - now, we need research funding and public health policy to catch up, and I want to do what I can to help make that happen."

<figure data-type="image">{{% md %}}![](https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1528726902404/TowardTomorrow_poster_web_600.jpg.jpg)
</figure>

[Tickets start at $15](http://operamariposa.com/tickets), and you can find more details [right here](http://operamariposa.com/schedule).
