FOXBURG, Pa. — Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts (ARCA) is continuing its Educational ArtReach program at Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools on Friday, March 1.

(PICTURED ABOVE: Kelly Fiona Lynch, Desirée Soteres, Kevin Adamik, and Franklin Mosley.)

ARCA will be bringing the celebrated opera-musical theatre ensemble Aria412 to the elementary school and the high school.

Aria412 teaching artists – singers Desirée Soteres, Kelly Fiona Lynch, Kevin Adamik, and Franklin Mosley and pianist Amy Kapp — will conduct three small classroom workshops for students in Grades One to Six in the morning.

The will prepare them for the afternoon assembly performance of A Fractured Musical Fairy Tale, based on the story of Hansel and Gretel, in the A-C Valley Elementary gymnasium. A second performance will follow for Grades Seven to 12 in the Senior High School auditorium.

The assembly performances of A Fractured Musical Fairy Tale – with subtitles Opera-tunity Knocks: Into the Woods with Hansel and Gretel — or — Opera Parents are the Worst — combine opera, musical theatre, jazz, rap and popular music retelling the story of Hansel & Gretel.  Along the way they encounter a rapping Witch, the wicked Queen of the Night with lots of operatic high notes, a friendly Barber named Figaro, a hungry plant named Audrey II and a masked Phantom of the Opera – all to delight, amaze and educate A-C Valley students.

Franklin Mosley as the Phantom of the Opera

Aria412 has developed a reputation for their enthusiasm for and dedication to presenting eclectically entertaining programs combining opera, musical theatre, jazz and rock/popular music in diverse, relaxed public venues.

Founded by Kelly Lynch and Desirée Soteres, Aria412 began producing monthly cabaret opera and musical theatre shows in April 2017 at Hotel Indigo and now performs in a growing list of venues. Their themed concerts delight and surprise their audiences — from culinary/food inspired programming to spooky Halloween musical theatre, art songs and opera arias to Shakespeare, Festivus and Grilligans’ Island programs — all enhanced by the charming and humorous introductions of program emcee Kip Soteres.

Each of the Aria412 concerts is designed to attract a mix of new audiences in addition to lovers of opera and the performing arts, making new friends and building bridges between disparate groups of people. By performing in a relaxed setting, they‘ve appealed to an audience of people who otherwise might not have attended this type of performance.

From the beginning, Aria412 has had a commitment not only to provide performing opportunities for seasoned singers in the greater Pittsburgh area but also for younger singers beginning their career. In 2019, Aria412 has expanded its educational mission to include music education outreach to public and private schools and students from K to 12 with their opera-mash-up, A Fractured Musical Fairy Tale.

On March 1, 2019, students in Grades K to 12 in the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools will experience the debut of this program, presented by ARCA.

Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Art’s education program fulfills its mission as a non-profit organization, demonstrating its commitment to contribute to the future of the Allegheny-Clarion valley community through the arts education of its young people. ARCA is grateful for its partnership with the A-C Valley School Board, administrators, faculty and music specialists in making this program possible.

In advance of their residency, elementary music teacher, A-C Valley choral director and musical theatre director Jennifer Lowrey will prepare students in K-6 for the Aria412 residency, introducing them to the Hansel and Gretel story, types of music being performed and excerpts of the music to be performed in the morning Introduction and afternoon assemblies.

Jennifer Lowrey said of ARCA’s arts education program, “The students at A-C Valley have a love for the arts. The programming ARCA has brought into our district over the years has nurtured that love and opened a window into a world of professional artistic excellence that many students otherwise might not get a chance to experience. It also has given them a glimpse of the possibility of who they could become as an artist.”

Designed specifically as an arts education resource for A-C Valley students, the Aria412 assembly concerts and workshops are not open to the public. Because there is no admission for any residency events, ARCA relies on contributions from the community to support its art education program in the A-C Valley Schools. ARCA is grateful for its Members and donors and for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ support of these educational activities.

For more information, follow this link: https://alleghenyriverstone.org/event/aria412-a-fractured-musical-fairy-tale/.