11.8.25 - Part 1

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, Welcome to a celebrity reader week here at RADIOI.
We have a special treat today. We have Michael Priestley
and he will be reading a children's book for us today.
Michael is a lecturer of Voice at UK for the
last five years, and he is the founder and director

(00:23):
of Uniting Voices Lexington, which perhaps he will have a
little description of here in a couple of minutes. As
a reminder, RADIOI is a reading service for those who
are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
to read printed material. All right, so let me read

(00:47):
Michael's bio. Michael is an American baritone and a rising
star on the operatic stage, and is also known for
a verse singing ability and style that allow him to
cross between genres from classical repertoire to pop contemporary and Broadway.

(01:09):
That's quite a bit. He has received critical acclaim from
many of his performances, including Phantom in Phantom of the Opera,
Scarpia in Tosca, Ford in Falstaff, Marccello in La Boem,
The High Priest in Samson and Delilah, and Porgy and
Jake in porgyan Bess. Mister Priestley has performed with many

(01:33):
major and regional opera houses and orchestras in the United
States and abroad. Recently, mister Priestley completed a European tour
of Porgy and Bess, where he received great reviews for
his performance of both Porgy and Jake. He has also
toured Russia in a concert series with New York based

(01:53):
Opera Noir, debuted with Opera Memphis in the role of
Marullo with a Rigoletto cover, and Opera de Montreal in
the role of Jake. Michael made his debut with the
Butler University Symphony Orchestra opposite world famous soprano Angela Brown

(02:16):
in a beloved performance of The Porgy and Best Suite.
Michael has performed with Cincinnati Opera, Opera Company, Philadelphia Opera Memphis,
Kentucky Opera, Cleveland Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and boe Am
Opera of New Jersey. Mister Priestley's success on the concert

(02:37):
stage has blossomed with some of the nation's leading orchestras,
including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the
Hamilton Fairfield Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops, the
Cincinnati Pops, the Greater Trenton Choral Society, and the American
Spiritual Ensemble. Mister Priestley has received numerous accolades. He was

(03:01):
invited under scholarship to participate in the International Vocal Arts
Institute with Joan Dornoman and the voic Experience with Cheryl
Milns and Friends. He was the first place graduate winner
in the All Tech Vocal Scholarship Competition at the University
of Kentucky, and the recipient of awards in various competitions

(03:25):
such as the National Opera Association Vocal Competition Artist Division
and the Fritz and Jensen Vocal Competition and the Metropolitan
Opera National Council Auditions. Currently, mister Priestley is working on
the release of his first album, Well Isn't That Cool?
Spirituals and Hymns, followed by a series of concerts and

(03:48):
recitals in various venues across the United States. Michael resides
in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife Letitia and three sons, Joshua,
Benjamin and m Jase Brison. So Michael tell us a
little bit about the first book that you'll be reading.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Absolutely, the first book is called Lily's First trip to
the opera. How fitting coming from an opera singer. Yes,
this book has actually a double entendre in that it's
talking about opera and it's also written by a very
very good friend of mine. Her name is doctor Christine Jobson,

(04:32):
and Christine wrote this book from not only an operatic
point of view in terms of someone experiencing opera from
the first time, but also from an African American point
of view, which I think is really really cool as well.
And so you'll hear so many different wonderful things about
what opera is and liking opera or not liking opera,

(04:56):
and just as Little Girls and her family's journey to
I think a once in a lifetime first experience.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
That is lovely. Well, I will let you get on
with reading of Lily's first Trip to the opera and
take it away.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Lily's first Trip to the opera. The cover is yellow.
We see Lily for the first time, well just her head.
She is smiling. We see the top of her blue
dress which has little white stars in it, and two
small poofy ponytails on the top of her head with

(05:43):
purple bows. She has big, beautiful brown eyes and lovely
chocolate skin. This book is dedicated to little girls and
boys with big dreams. Believe me, It's possible, Editor Amber Camilla.

(06:07):
Good morning, mommy, said Lily as she ran down the stairs.
What's for breakfast today? We'll be having pancakes and fruit. Perfect,
as long as I can have a hot cup of mealo,
said Lily. I'm bored. I wish that we could go

(06:28):
on an adventure. Well, you're in luck, because I have
an exciting evening planned for you. Mommy always had special
surprises planned for her daughter. Really, mommy, yay, what are
we going to do tonight? When your father comes home?
We will spend an evening at the opera. At the opera?

(06:51):
Oh no, boring, squealed Lily as she slumped in her chair.
I don't want to go to the opera, the opera
for old people. Please don't make me go, please, mommy, No,
Lily was not happy. On this page, we see only

(07:16):
Lily's mom looking seriously at Lily. You're going that's final,
and you're going to like it, said mommy, with a
twinkle in her eye. Well I'm not going to like it,
huffed Lily. On the next page, here Lily's mom has

(07:39):
moved into the living room, and we see there are
couch and several shelves of books and DVDs and CDs
on the wall behind her. You think you won't like
the opera because you don't know anything about it. Well,
I've got just a thing to help with that. Today,
I'm going to teach you all about the opera, including

(08:02):
my favorite opera singer and one of the most beloved
operas in history. An opera is an exciting story told
through music, acting, scenery, dancing, and costumes. Operas often includes soloists,

(08:25):
a chorus, a conductor, and an orchestra. Said, mommy, oh
my goodness, we are seeing the opera stage and artists
dressed as opera characters. There is a man sitting in
a yellow military uniform with a sword, and a lady
dressed like a Spanish flamenco dancer in a white blouse

(08:48):
and a red skirt with lots of layers. There is
a ballerina on her tiptoes, accompanied by a male dancer
dressed in tights and a high colored white shirt with
a tan vest. The ballerina is dancing against his arm.
On the side is a lady in a red dress

(09:10):
singing into a microphone. On the next page, we still
see the stage of the opera house. There is a
giant piano with his lid propped open so that the
sound can get out easily. A man is sitting at
the piano. We can imagine he is playing a beautiful melody.

(09:31):
A lady is standing in front of the piano, wearing
a green dress and a hat and getting ready to sing.
My favorite opera singer is a woman named Leontine Price.
She is one of the most beloved and talented American
opera singers in history. Her golden voice is like no other,

(09:55):
said Mommy, I have a CD that in fludes a
recording of Leontine Price singing an aria from La Boem Labo,
What asked Lily? La Boem, one of the most popular
operas of all time. Unfortunately, one of the main characters, Mimi,

(10:18):
gets sick and passes away while surrounded by friends and
loved ones. We are back at Lily's house. On this page,
Lily is sitting with her mom on their couch. Lily's back.
She is standing pointing at a picture behind the couch.
The lady in the picture has a big smile and

(10:41):
her hair is tied up with a purple headband, with
her gray hair rising above it. She looks like a
lady that has a lot of fun, like Grandma. We
were there when Grandma passed away last year. That's right,
just like that to night we will see Labo m

(11:03):
in act too. There's even a chorus of children, said mommy.
On the next page, we see what Lily is thinking.
There is a bubble next to her showing what she
is picturing in her mind. She sees two grown ups

(11:24):
and two children like her in opera costumes singing on
the stage. Wow, children sing opera too, questioned Lily. Absolutely,
this opera features singers of all ages, replied mommy with
a grin. On the next page, we see a close

(11:46):
up of one of the shelves behind Lily's couch and
a seed turned so that we can see the lady's
picture on the front. She is dressed in a modern
green dress. She has short, dark hair and is very beautiful.
This CD is on my bookshelf. Let's grab it so

(12:08):
that we can listen to Leontine Price's glorious voice. Now,
said mommy. The next page, we see an even bigger
closeup of the CD again with Lily's mother holding it.
The bottom of the CD says, Lavo m which is
a famous opera. Mommy pulled out an old CD with

(12:33):
a beautiful picture on the front. This is Lantine Price,
one of the greatest opera singers in history. Mommy gently
pulled Lily onto her lap. Lily listened carefully. On the
next page, Lily's mother put on the CD, and we

(12:53):
see Lily holding the CD case tightly to herself and
listening as she sits with her her mother on the couch.
As Lily held the Liantine Price City close to her chest,
she wondered what adventures would be waiting for her at
the opera house. Now Lily is excited. We see her

(13:17):
happy and getting ready to do something. Go and pick
out your prettiest dress, said mommy. We will wear our
best outfits for our trip to the opera. By this time,
Lily was excited. On the next page, we are at
the opera. Here are Lily and her parents in their seats.

(13:41):
Lily is in the center in her blue dress with
the white stars, and on one side is her father
in a suit and a colorful tie, and her mother
in a green off the shoulder dress with a diamond choker.
They all have big smiles. Mom, Dad, and Lily arrived

(14:05):
at the opera house early and found their seats. The
orchestra was already warming up in the pit. Soon after,
the conductor appeared and directed the instrumentalists to begin. Page sixteen,
we see the stage and two children singing and two

(14:26):
adults just like Lily imagined. Lily watched with wonder as
she observed people of all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, and
ethnicities perform. They were even singing in another language. On

(14:47):
page seventeen, at the end of the opera, we see
Lily looking at the little girl who sang in this opera,
and we see her thinking bubble that shows Lily on
the stage. At the end of the opera, Lily jumped
to her feet and gave a standing ovation. Not only

(15:08):
was she excited about her first trip to the opera,
but she also began to dream about what it would
be like if she could become an opera singer one day.
On page eighteen, here we see just Lily and her mom.
They are smiling at one another. Lily turned to her

(15:29):
mother and exclaimed, thanks, Mommy, thank you for taking me
to the opera. Well, I hope you enjoyed that wonderful
story and heard several different words that you probably know
or may not know the meaning of Aria A solo
song in an opera or oratorio. Conductor a person who

(15:53):
directs the performance of a choir and or orchestra. La
bo m ana composed by Jocamo Puccini. Opera an exciting
story told through music, acting, scenery, dancing, and costumes. Operas
often includes soloists, a chorus, a conductor, and an orchestra, and, last,

(16:17):
but not least, orchestra a group of instrumentalists who play together.
This group usually includes strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments.
A little bit about the author, Doctor Christine Jobson is
a singer, music professor, and author. She enjoys performing all

(16:40):
over the world and teaching others about black composers. To
learn more about black composers, connect with doctor Jobson on
social media or on her website.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
Well, thank you, Michael for a lovely read of Lily's
first trip to the opera, and it brings to mind
what your first trip to the opera might have been like.
So can you describe that for us a little bit.
What was that, Like, Wow, when did it happen?

Speaker 2 (17:13):
And well, my first trip to an opera, I was
actually in it. Really Yeah, you know, I saw opera
on a DVD or you know at that time of VHS,
but right exactly. But I had never been to an

(17:34):
opera and the first opera that I was in was
Poor Game Bess. Yeah. It was my freshman year at
Oberlin and I played the role of Robin's in Poor
Game Betts, which is a tenor roll and I'm a baritone. Oh,
so that was also a little interesting. But you know,
they knew I could sing it, so that's what I did.

(17:55):
But Robbins gets killed at the beginning of the opera,
so it's very interesting that they gave that role to
me because then I didn't sing anymore in the rest
of the show. But that was my first operatic encounter
being in the opera, which I think is unique because
then my perspective later on was truly full in terms

(18:17):
of what the process is.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
Well that you know, it's people's experiences are are so
unique to them. Yes, and you know, I don't think
I've ever actually been to the opera, so this is
an experience that is in my future.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yes, I'm a little old to be having my first
opera experience. Can you talk for just a moment about
Uniting Voices and what Uniting Voices does.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
Yes. So, Uniting Voices is an organization that I started
here in Lexington, but it actually began in Chicago, where
I'm born and raised. I was actually a part of
Uniting Voices when I was in high school and it
changed my life a great deal, just in terms of
life outside the city of Chicago, which is you know,

(19:14):
I said, where I'm from, meside of it, right right.
You know. I had a chance to actually meet Nelson Mandela,
actually signing for Nelson Mandela in his home, in his
living room. I've met presidents, I've met kings, queen's dignitaries.
I've traveled all around the world being a part of
this organization. And I wanted to bring something like that

(19:36):
to our young people here in Lexington. And so I
called them and they said, hey, we're changing the name
from Chicago Children's Choir to Uniting Voices. And I've said, well,
that makes a lot of sense. We can just have
a Uniting Voices Lexington, And so now we're here year
three serving children in grades six through twelve in our
after school program, and we are in three Faia County

(19:58):
public schools, Middle School, Harrison Elementary and Morton Middle School.
So it's been such a wonderful journey in helping our
educators really impart wisdom and direction in the lives of
these young people.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
And it's focused toward children who would not necessarily have
musical experience.

Speaker 2 (20:20):
Well, we're open to anyone, and the hope is that
through different experiences of different people we can grow together
as a community. Because there are students in our organization
who have been out of the country, but there are
some who've never been out of Lexington, and so they
get a chance to actually come together and travel together

(20:41):
and share their experiences with the hope of creating a
better Lexington for our future.

Speaker 1 (20:48):
I think that's wonderful work.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
Thank you so much, well.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
Thank you so much for joining us today. This has
again been Michael Priestley reading Lily's First Trip to the
Opera and this does conclude our reading of our book.
It is Lily's First Trip to the Opera by doctor
Christine Jobson and leave I'm looking for the publication information,

(21:20):
which is there we go. I think it is self
published by doctor Jobson, and it was published. Do you
know the approximate year? Okay, I don't see a year,
but I'm sure it was fairly recently. Okay, your reader

(21:45):
has been Michael Priestley. This is Anne Glover sharing the
studio with him and helping him along. Now, please stay
tuned for continued programming on Radio I, and thank you
for listening. Have a great day.