BRCVPA Student Opera Gives Kids ‘The Power of Voice’
- November 15, 2011
From November 8 through November 10, several fourth graders at the Baton Rouge Center for the Visual & Performing Arts (BRCVPA) were teaching fellow students about the power they have when they speak up for themselves as part of their annual student opera.
Kojo Ennin and Heather Al-bagdadi (pictured, left to right) were doused in an alien fog during the opera, called "The Power of Voice." The opera was written, composed, performed, orchestrated, set designed, costumed and publicized all by fourth graders at the magnet school.
Teacher Leea Reese said this year’s theme is "power." "The thesis is ‘We Have the Power to Make the World a Better Place’ by making the right choices and standing up for the rights and beliefs of people without a voice," she said.
"Through brainstorming activities, the students come up with the theme and thesis and use this as the foundation for designing the entire show. This year’s show is about aliens in a talent show. Some of the aliens are bullying the others who are participating in the show."
Over 12 weeks, various students in the Fourth Grade Indestructible Radical 4G Nation are broken up into crews: performers/writers, composers, orchestra members, set designers, carpenters, costumers, make-up artists, publicity agents, electricians and stage managers. Each crew is under the supervision of a fourth-grade teacher or an arts staff member. The company (fourth graders) as a whole chose a company name, theme, thesis statement, colors, line, shape and texture. The writers took this information and created a dynamic script. The development of theme, thesis, conflict, and resolution of this year’s Opera are witnessed in three scenes.
The performances are made possible with assistance from the Washington National Opera’s Creating Original Opera program in Washington, D.C. Creating Original Opera, which originated with the New York Metropolitan Opera, has been in existence for ten years at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts.
Principal Brister in Washington, D.C., to Accept McKinley Middle School’s Second Blue Ribbon Award
On Tuesday, November 13, 2012, Principal Herman Brister (pictured, left) and the school’s Teacher of the Year, Lynn Williamson (right), were in Washington, D.C., accepting McKinley Middle Academic Magnet School’s National Blue Ribbon Award from U.S. Department of Education’s Director of National Blue Ribbon Schools Program Aba Kumi (center). The event, which recognized some 314 schools from across the United States, was held at the Omni Hotel. Click herefor story.
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