By Katherine Karlson
The magic of an engaging true story combined with the power of music: That’s the feature recipe on the menu Oct. 1 at the Tri-Cities Opera Center in Binghamton when the Pocket Opera Project (POP) showcases a groundbreaking collaboration between young storytellers and local composers.
Nearly three years in the making, POP is the vehicle by which four local elementary school students will have their “Stories of the Southern Tier” transformed into mini-operas of 15-20 minutes each.
The project is the brainchild of Canaan J. Harris, a New York-based composer originally from Whitney Point. Harris conceived the project with two goals: Give youngsters an appreciation of local history and open a new door for them into the arts.
“Any time you can know more about where you come from, the more you can textualize yourself in time and place,” Harris said.
Harris, who has an undergraduate degree in piano performance, is a 2021 Master’s degree recipient in music composition from Binghamton University. He currently is working on a certificate in musical theater writing.
His plan to have local school children, from grades 3 through 7, submit stories based on various aspects of Southern Tier history and set them to music was the basis for his winning entry to the 2019-20 SUNY PACC prize competition for performing arts, creation and curation. It is intended to provide experience in designing arts projects with an emphasis on meaningful public engagement and to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity. Harris won $10,000 to go ahead with the project.
He worked closely with the Binghamton Area Reading Council, especially Kristie Miner, to recruit local teachers to engage their students in the necessary research and writing for the “librettos.”
The four finalists and their story titles are “We Survived the Flood of 1935!” by Archer McIntyre of Whitney Point, “Train 61” by Sindhi Zhou of Vestal, “Roberson House” by Adrian Smith of Whitney Point and “The Magical Carousel” by Lora Stephens of Whitney Point.
A group of composers reviewed all the submissions from a two-year period and focused on “the ones that sang to us.”
“It was more gut instinct. Which story would work best on stage? We needed a character to follow or a strong character arc,” Harris said.
Harris himself is writing the music for McIntyre’s story. Although he’s sticking with simple song forms from musical theater that most young people are familiar with, there are still operatic elements, such as choral textures, that will sustain the drama of the story itself.
Derek Young from Sayre, Pa., is scoring “Train 61,” and Ben Palmateer from Saratoga Springs will give voice to “Roberson’s Ghosts.” The fourth story will be used as a real-time demonstration of the collaborative process, Harris said. Composer and playwright Santino DeAngelo, another Southern Tier transplant to New York City, has acted as director and advisor to the project.
Vocal talent comes from Binghamton University and the community, along with some TCO performers. There is a small orchestra of piano, flute and cello to back up the staged reading format of the performances.
Harris hopes the Pocket Opera Project continues, giving voice to local stories and engaging the greater community to reflect upon its shared history.
“We don’t have many new works that will engage the community; this absence is what compelled me to do this,” he added.
IF YOU GO: Tri-Cities Opera will present the Pocket Opera Project at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Tri-Cities Opera Center,315 Clinton St., Binghamton. Tickets are $12 (students 18 and under are free). Please reserve student tickets via tickets@tricitiesopera.org. Box office: (607) 772-0400.
