NEW CASTLE Pupils experience the arts through education program

There will be two more performances this year as part of the Artsreach program.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Amber Fraser wasn't sure what to expect when teachers told her the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera was coming to George Washington Intermediate School.
"I thought it would be like that Italian opera stuff you see on TV," the sixth-grader said.
But Amber and her classmates were pleasantly surprised to see a somewhat comical portrayal of the life of Nellie Bly, a pioneer for women in journalism during the late 1800s.
The program is part of a new arts in education pilot program sponsored by the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts. Pupils at Mercer Elementary in Mercer County and Brighton Township Elementary in Beaver County, saw the same performance this week.
Arts for the masses: Kimberly Koller-Jones, Hoyt executive director, developed the program, called Artsreach, as a means of providing the arts to large groups of people and helping schools meet their state mandated arts and humanities curriculum standards.
The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera performances kicked off the pilot program, which will include other performances by the Spoken Hand, a 15-man drumming orchestra in February, and the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, a Slovak dancing troupe, in May.
More events are expected in 2002-2003 school year through the program, which was underwritten by a grant from the Hillman Foundation and support from Ellwood Group Inc., First Merit Bank and others, Koller-Jones said.
Koller-Jones added the Hoyt hopes to get state and federal education grants for future years, and schools may be asked to contribute for the programs.
Good opportunity: Richard Retort, school principal, said he was pleased when approached about the program. He noted there are few opportunities for his pupils to see these types of performances.
Retort said he plans to alternate classes for the other two performances to allow each grade to see at least two of the Artsreach programs.
Homeroom teachers prepared the pupils for the program last week with materials sent by the Hoyt about Bly's life, he said.
For Amber and her classmates, the performance was a first-time experience that they say they want to repeat.
"I thought it was just wonderful," said Ciara Pruchnic, 10, a fifth-grader.
cioffi@vindy.com