Bravo!

What brought Binghamton’s Tri-Cities Opera to C.R. Weeks Elementary?

“Our primary goal is to educate and foster a passion for music, opera and the arts,” said John Cockerill, Musical Associate for the Tri-Cities Opera.
 
After the group performed Goldie B. Locks and the Three Singing Bears in front of students on January 24th, mission accomplished.
 
Two men and a woman in bear ears on stage 
 
“I liked it, it was cool. I liked the singing. I like to sing,” said 2nd grader Claire Lehr. 
 
“It was awesome. I liked when the bears screamed when they saw the spider,” said 2nd grader Cassius Ray. 
 
The performance featured a modern-day Goldie with a love of bugs, and a baby bear named Peek who's determined to earn the Detective Merit Badge for his Junior Smoky Scout Troop. The show also had a message about owning up to your mistakes and confiding in the people you trust. 
 
The students learned even more during the Q-&-A session after the performance. Students heard about how performers sing in Italian, French, German, Russian and Spanish, and the kind of education they needed to reach the stage.
 
Children sitting in chairs in an audience 
 
“They all want to know how we met and how long it takes to put the show together. It’s a good chance to talk to them about voice types, casting, set design and props,” said Cockerill. 
 
The performance at Weeks was the 20th out of 72 Tri-Cities Opera has planned for schools throughout New York and Pennsylvania as part of the organization’s educational Opera-Go-Round program. 
 
“The more options and opportunities we can expose our children to, the better. You don’t know if you’ll spark an interest of someone in the audience,” said C.R. Weeks Elementary principal Kristin Beriman. 

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