Latest / Children's Hour / 11.8.25 - Part 1

Transcript

11.8.25 - Part 1 · Children's Hour

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  Speaker 1: Hello, Welcome to a celebrity reader week here at RADIOI.
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  We have a special treat today. We have Michael Priestley
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  and he will be reading a children's book for us today.
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  Michael is a lecturer of Voice at UK for the
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  last five years, and he is the founder and director
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  of Uniting Voices Lexington, which perhaps he will have a
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  little description of here in a couple of minutes. As
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  a reminder, RADIOI is a reading service for those who
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  are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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  to read printed material. All right, so let me read
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  Michael's bio. Michael is an American baritone and a rising
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  star on the operatic stage, and is also known for
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  a verse singing ability and style that allow him to
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  cross between genres from classical repertoire to pop contemporary and Broadway.
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  That's quite a bit. He has received critical acclaim from
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  many of his performances, including Phantom in Phantom of the Opera,
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  Scarpia in Tosca, Ford in Falstaff, Marccello in La Boem,
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  The High Priest in Samson and Delilah, and Porgy and
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  Jake in porgyan Bess. Mister Priestley has performed with many
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  major and regional opera houses and orchestras in the United
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  States and abroad. Recently, mister Priestley completed a European tour
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  of Porgy and Bess, where he received great reviews for
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  his performance of both Porgy and Jake. He has also
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  toured Russia in a concert series with New York based
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  Opera Noir, debuted with Opera Memphis in the role of
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  Marullo with a Rigoletto cover, and Opera de Montreal in
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  the role of Jake. Michael made his debut with the
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  Butler University Symphony Orchestra opposite world famous soprano Angela Brown
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  in a beloved performance of The Porgy and Best Suite.
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  Michael has performed with Cincinnati Opera, Opera Company, Philadelphia Opera Memphis,
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  Kentucky Opera, Cleveland Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and boe Am
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  Opera of New Jersey. Mister Priestley's success on the concert
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  stage has blossomed with some of the nation's leading orchestras,
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  including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the
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  Hamilton Fairfield Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops, the
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  Cincinnati Pops, the Greater Trenton Choral Society, and the American
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  Spiritual Ensemble. Mister Priestley has received numerous accolades. He was
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  invited under scholarship to participate in the International Vocal Arts
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  Institute with Joan Dornoman and the voic Experience with Cheryl
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  Milns and Friends. He was the first place graduate winner
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  in the All Tech Vocal Scholarship Competition at the University
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  of Kentucky, and the recipient of awards in various competitions
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  such as the National Opera Association Vocal Competition Artist Division
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  and the Fritz and Jensen Vocal Competition and the Metropolitan
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  Opera National Council Auditions. Currently, mister Priestley is working on
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  the release of his first album, Well Isn't That Cool?
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  Spirituals and Hymns, followed by a series of concerts and
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  recitals in various venues across the United States. Michael resides
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  in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife Letitia and three sons, Joshua,
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  Benjamin and m Jase Brison. So Michael tell us a
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  little bit about the first book that you'll be reading.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, the first book is called Lily's First trip to
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  the opera. How fitting coming from an opera singer. Yes,
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  this book has actually a double entendre in that it's
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  talking about opera and it's also written by a very
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  very good friend of mine. Her name is doctor Christine Jobson,
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  and Christine wrote this book from not only an operatic
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  point of view in terms of someone experiencing opera from
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  the first time, but also from an African American point
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  of view, which I think is really really cool as well.
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  And so you'll hear so many different wonderful things about
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  what opera is and liking opera or not liking opera,
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  and just as Little Girls and her family's journey to
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  I think a once in a lifetime first experience.
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  Speaker 1: That is lovely. Well, I will let you get on
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  with reading of Lily's first Trip to the opera and
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  take it away.
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  Speaker 2: Lily's first Trip to the opera. The cover is yellow.
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  We see Lily for the first time, well just her head.
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  She is smiling. We see the top of her blue
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  dress which has little white stars in it, and two
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  small poofy ponytails on the top of her head with
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  purple bows. She has big, beautiful brown eyes and lovely
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  chocolate skin. This book is dedicated to little girls and
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  boys with big dreams. Believe me, It's possible, Editor Amber Camilla.
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  Good morning, mommy, said Lily as she ran down the stairs.
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  What's for breakfast today? We'll be having pancakes and fruit. Perfect,
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  as long as I can have a hot cup of mealo,
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  said Lily. I'm bored. I wish that we could go
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  on an adventure. Well, you're in luck, because I have
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  an exciting evening planned for you. Mommy always had special
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  surprises planned for her daughter. Really, mommy, yay, what are
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  we going to do tonight? When your father comes home?
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  We will spend an evening at the opera. At the opera?
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  Oh no, boring, squealed Lily as she slumped in her chair.
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  I don't want to go to the opera, the opera
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  for old people. Please don't make me go, please, mommy, No,
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  Lily was not happy. On this page, we see only
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  Lily's mom looking seriously at Lily. You're going that's final,
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  and you're going to like it, said mommy, with a
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  twinkle in her eye. Well I'm not going to like it,
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  huffed Lily. On the next page, here Lily's mom has
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  moved into the living room, and we see there are
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  couch and several shelves of books and DVDs and CDs
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  on the wall behind her. You think you won't like
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  the opera because you don't know anything about it. Well,
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  I've got just a thing to help with that. Today,
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  I'm going to teach you all about the opera, including
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  my favorite opera singer and one of the most beloved
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  operas in history. An opera is an exciting story told
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  through music, acting, scenery, dancing, and costumes. Operas often includes soloists,
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  a chorus, a conductor, and an orchestra. Said, mommy, oh
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  my goodness, we are seeing the opera stage and artists
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  dressed as opera characters. There is a man sitting in
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  a yellow military uniform with a sword, and a lady
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  dressed like a Spanish flamenco dancer in a white blouse
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  and a red skirt with lots of layers. There is
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  a ballerina on her tiptoes, accompanied by a male dancer
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  dressed in tights and a high colored white shirt with
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  a tan vest. The ballerina is dancing against his arm.
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  On the side is a lady in a red dress
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  singing into a microphone. On the next page, we still
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  see the stage of the opera house. There is a
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  giant piano with his lid propped open so that the
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  sound can get out easily. A man is sitting at
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  the piano. We can imagine he is playing a beautiful melody.
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  A lady is standing in front of the piano, wearing
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  a green dress and a hat and getting ready to sing.
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  My favorite opera singer is a woman named Leontine Price.
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  She is one of the most beloved and talented American
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  opera singers in history. Her golden voice is like no other,
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  said Mommy, I have a CD that in fludes a
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  recording of Leontine Price singing an aria from La Boem Labo,
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  What asked Lily? La Boem, one of the most popular
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  operas of all time. Unfortunately, one of the main characters, Mimi,
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  gets sick and passes away while surrounded by friends and
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  loved ones. We are back at Lily's house. On this page,
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  Lily is sitting with her mom on their couch. Lily's back.
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  She is standing pointing at a picture behind the couch.
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  The lady in the picture has a big smile and
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  her hair is tied up with a purple headband, with
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  her gray hair rising above it. She looks like a
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  lady that has a lot of fun, like Grandma. We
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  were there when Grandma passed away last year. That's right,
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  just like that to night we will see Labo m
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  in act too. There's even a chorus of children, said mommy.
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  On the next page, we see what Lily is thinking.
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  There is a bubble next to her showing what she
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  is picturing in her mind. She sees two grown ups
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  and two children like her in opera costumes singing on
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  the stage. Wow, children sing opera too, questioned Lily. Absolutely,
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  this opera features singers of all ages, replied mommy with
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  a grin. On the next page, we see a close
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  up of one of the shelves behind Lily's couch and
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  a seed turned so that we can see the lady's
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  picture on the front. She is dressed in a modern
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  green dress. She has short, dark hair and is very beautiful.
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  This CD is on my bookshelf. Let's grab it so
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  that we can listen to Leontine Price's glorious voice. Now,
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  said mommy. The next page, we see an even bigger
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  closeup of the CD again with Lily's mother holding it.
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  The bottom of the CD says, Lavo m which is
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  a famous opera. Mommy pulled out an old CD with
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  a beautiful picture on the front. This is Lantine Price,
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  one of the greatest opera singers in history. Mommy gently
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  pulled Lily onto her lap. Lily listened carefully. On the
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  next page, Lily's mother put on the CD, and we
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  see Lily holding the CD case tightly to herself and
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  listening as she sits with her her mother on the couch.
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  As Lily held the Liantine Price City close to her chest,
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  she wondered what adventures would be waiting for her at
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  the opera house. Now Lily is excited. We see her
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  happy and getting ready to do something. Go and pick
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  out your prettiest dress, said mommy. We will wear our
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  best outfits for our trip to the opera. By this time,
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  Lily was excited. On the next page, we are at
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  the opera. Here are Lily and her parents in their seats.
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  Lily is in the center in her blue dress with
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  the white stars, and on one side is her father
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  in a suit and a colorful tie, and her mother
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  in a green off the shoulder dress with a diamond choker.
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  They all have big smiles. Mom, Dad, and Lily arrived
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  at the opera house early and found their seats. The
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  orchestra was already warming up in the pit. Soon after,
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  the conductor appeared and directed the instrumentalists to begin. Page sixteen,
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  we see the stage and two children singing and two
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  adults just like Lily imagined. Lily watched with wonder as
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  she observed people of all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, and
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  ethnicities perform. They were even singing in another language. On
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  page seventeen, at the end of the opera, we see
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  Lily looking at the little girl who sang in this opera,
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  and we see her thinking bubble that shows Lily on
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  the stage. At the end of the opera, Lily jumped
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  to her feet and gave a standing ovation. Not only
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  was she excited about her first trip to the opera,
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  but she also began to dream about what it would
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  be like if she could become an opera singer one day.
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  On page eighteen, here we see just Lily and her mom.
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  They are smiling at one another. Lily turned to her
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  mother and exclaimed, thanks, Mommy, thank you for taking me
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  to the opera. Well, I hope you enjoyed that wonderful
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  story and heard several different words that you probably know
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  or may not know the meaning of Aria A solo
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  song in an opera or oratorio. Conductor a person who
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  directs the performance of a choir and or orchestra. La
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  bo m ana composed by Jocamo Puccini. Opera an exciting
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  story told through music, acting, scenery, dancing, and costumes. Operas
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  often includes soloists, a chorus, a conductor, and an orchestra, and, last,
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  but not least, orchestra a group of instrumentalists who play together.
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  This group usually includes strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments.
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  A little bit about the author, Doctor Christine Jobson is
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  a singer, music professor, and author. She enjoys performing all
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  over the world and teaching others about black composers. To
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  learn more about black composers, connect with doctor Jobson on
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  social media or on her website.
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  Speaker 1: Well, thank you, Michael for a lovely read of Lily's
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  first trip to the opera, and it brings to mind
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  what your first trip to the opera might have been like.
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  So can you describe that for us a little bit.
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  What was that, Like, Wow, when did it happen?
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  Speaker 2: And well, my first trip to an opera, I was
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  actually in it. Really Yeah, you know, I saw opera
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  on a DVD or you know at that time of VHS,
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  but right exactly. But I had never been to an
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  opera and the first opera that I was in was
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  Poor Game Bess. Yeah. It was my freshman year at
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  Oberlin and I played the role of Robin's in Poor
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  Game Betts, which is a tenor roll and I'm a baritone. Oh,
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  so that was also a little interesting. But you know,
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  they knew I could sing it, so that's what I did.
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  But Robbins gets killed at the beginning of the opera,
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  so it's very interesting that they gave that role to
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  me because then I didn't sing anymore in the rest
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  of the show. But that was my first operatic encounter
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  being in the opera, which I think is unique because
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  then my perspective later on was truly full in terms
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  of what the process is.
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  Speaker 1: Well that you know, it's people's experiences are are so
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  unique to them. Yes, and you know, I don't think
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  I've ever actually been to the opera, so this is
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  an experience that is in my future.
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  Speaker 2: There you go.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, I'm a little old to be having my first
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  opera experience. Can you talk for just a moment about
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  Uniting Voices and what Uniting Voices does.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. So, Uniting Voices is an organization that I started
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  here in Lexington, but it actually began in Chicago, where
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  I'm born and raised. I was actually a part of
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  Uniting Voices when I was in high school and it
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  changed my life a great deal, just in terms of
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  life outside the city of Chicago, which is you know,
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  I said, where I'm from, meside of it, right right.
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  You know. I had a chance to actually meet Nelson Mandela,
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  actually signing for Nelson Mandela in his home, in his
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  living room. I've met presidents, I've met kings, queen's dignitaries.
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  I've traveled all around the world being a part of
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  this organization. And I wanted to bring something like that
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  to our young people here in Lexington. And so I
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  called them and they said, hey, we're changing the name
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  from Chicago Children's Choir to Uniting Voices. And I've said, well,
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  that makes a lot of sense. We can just have
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  a Uniting Voices Lexington, And so now we're here year
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  three serving children in grades six through twelve in our
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  after school program, and we are in three Faia County
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  public schools, Middle School, Harrison Elementary and Morton Middle School.
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  So it's been such a wonderful journey in helping our
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  educators really impart wisdom and direction in the lives of
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  these young people.
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  Speaker 1: And it's focused toward children who would not necessarily have
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  musical experience.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we're open to anyone, and the hope is that
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  through different experiences of different people we can grow together
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  as a community. Because there are students in our organization
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  who have been out of the country, but there are
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  some who've never been out of Lexington, and so they
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  get a chance to actually come together and travel together
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  and share their experiences with the hope of creating a
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  better Lexington for our future.
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  Speaker 1: I think that's wonderful work.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, well.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today. This has
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  again been Michael Priestley reading Lily's First Trip to the
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  Opera and this does conclude our reading of our book.
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  It is Lily's First Trip to the Opera by doctor
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  Christine Jobson and leave I'm looking for the publication information,
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  which is there we go. I think it is self
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  published by doctor Jobson, and it was published. Do you
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  know the approximate year? Okay, I don't see a year,
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  but I'm sure it was fairly recently. Okay, your reader
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  has been Michael Priestley. This is Anne Glover sharing the
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  studio with him and helping him along. Now, please stay
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  tuned for continued programming on Radio I, and thank you
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  for listening. Have a great day.