Montgomery Community Media

After the opera, the company loses its sense of purpose for a short period and needs to find its way, its new path. The students try to revert to previous behaviors and “old ways” until they realize that they are changed forever. They can’t go back. Then, they determine the route for a new journey […]

Everyone is caught off guard by mixed emotions the day after the opera. Realizing that the culminating event for which we have been preparing all year has now passed is depressing and disappointing. The process of striking the set and taking everything down that we have spent months creating illicits a host of feelings that […]

Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company, a student run opera at Stedwick Elementary School, showcased its original opera “Strike N’ Spare” earlier this month. MCPS-TV was on the scene with the performers. Visit our PEG partner MCPS TV to view more of its local programming. For a look behind, read Mary Ruth McGinn’s blog, Learning […]

As we prepare these last days before our original opera production of Strike ‘n Spare, we are thinking carefully about what we want to convey to the public. What do we REALLY want our audience to know and think about after the opera?  What message must we deliver and what do we want people to […]

Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company understands well that making mistakes and pushing through setbacks are part of the learning process. However, knowing this doesn’t make it easier when we are inside a situation that presents us with disappointment, doubt and hard feelings. After a particularly difficult afternoon when company members were struggling with internal […]

Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company News Release March 1, 2015 Natania Bennett, Leslie Lopez, Kathryn Riley Public Relations Officers We are Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company from Stedwick Elementary School. We are twenty-five third graders from Ms. McGinn’s class. We have formed our own opera company, and our goal is to create and […]

What goes into determining the perfect title for our original opera? As company members ponder a catchy title that will grab the attention of the audience, they generate ideas based on the following criteria. The title should entice audience members, evoking questions and thoughts about what will transpire on stage. It should capture the essence […]

Members of Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company spent all day Saturday selling the importance of their unique project to total strangers at the Gaithersburg Flea Market. Who are we? Why do we need funding? Why does our mission matter? I watched as my students approached all passersby, took the initiative and engaged them in […]

The Need for Quality Work in School What is great quality? Why do we see so little of it around us in our world? In school, at home, at work, poor quality surrounds us. At times, the concept of excellence seems foreign. In order to produce quality work, we must first know quality work. Where […]

Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company experienced a musical awakening. Pianist, Henry Dehlinger, opera singer, Danielle Talamantes and US Army Chorus member, Kerry Wilkerson opened our ears, eyes and souls to the power of music. Playing and singing songs from the operas, The Magic Flute and Porgy and Bess, they collaborated beautifully to share their […]