Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

1/11/06

NEWS RELEASE
Seattle Opera Performs at Pioneer Elementary

During the week of February 14-17, Pioneer Elementary School’s fifth grade students will be experiencing performing arts first-hand. The Seattle Opera Young Artists Program will be conducting a four-day artist-in-residency workshop for the Pioneer students. Six opera singers, a pianist, a music director, and a stage manager will actually produce Richard Wagner’s opera, The Rhinegold, at the school. The Pioneer fifth grade students will be involved in acting, singing, and stage movement as well as set preparation and “front of the house” activities. With only one week to prepare, the fifth grade classroom teachers and the music teacher will be coordinating activities to ready the students for the performance on Friday, February 17 at 2:00 p.m. in the Pioneer Elementary School gymnasium.

During this very special assembly/performance, all Pioneer students will take in the sights and sounds of the production. Through teaching materials provided by Seattle Opera, all students will be introduced in their classroom to opera and the unique story of The Rhinegold. This mythological story will have special meaning to Pioneer students as their teachers relate it to anti-bullying strategies they are learning about. This enrichment program was made possible through a grant from The City of Auburn and the support of the Pioneer Elementary School PTA.

For more information, contact Pioneer Elementary School principal, Debra Gary, at (253) 931-4986.