NORWICH – On Thursday, May 10, the Chenango Arts Council (CAC) hosted middle and high school students from Norwich schools to attend a free program at the Martin Kappel Theater.

The educational performance workshop featured members of the Tri-Cities Opera of Binghamton in a special operetta of the classic tale Jack and the Beanstalk, and educated students about basic theory and form of classical opera performance.

Nearly 300 Norwich City School District and Holy Family School students attended the performance, which was made possible by the Chenango Arts Council's Public Arts Initiatives.

“The Arts Council has a long history of recognizing the importance of offering accessible arts programming, and working with our school districts to organize relevant and engaging field trips is just one of the ways the CAC brings culture to our youth,” said Alecia ONeill, CAC executive director. “Welcoming our schools into the CAC for curriculum-based opportunities such as this has long been an important goal of the Arts Council, and I would especially like to thank the Tri-Cities Opera for developing a program that was able to keep a few hundred tweens and teens engaged while teaching the basics of opera.”

As part of its ongoing public arts initiative, the CAC will offer yet another free classical music program to the general public this Thursday, May 17 as it hosts the Binghamton Community Orchestra beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Kappel Theater, 27 West Main Street, Norwich.