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Transforming student stories into masterful mini-operas!
The Pocket Opera Project is telling stories with a distinct new voice! Local elementary and middle school students have been selected to have their story submissions transformed into mini-operas — in collaboration with Binghamton University composers.
These incredible “pocket operas” come with big theatrical moments and tell deeply human stories filled with adventure, tragedy, and magic!
K-12 students who would like a chance to see their story transformed into a “pocket opera” are encouraged to enter the WSKG Student Writing Competition.
This year’s story selections include:
All Things Lovely and Treacherous
by Audra A. from Haverling High School (Bath, NY)
Music by Nicky Radford; libretto by Evelyn Woe
Dust
by Casmira J. from Russell I. Doig Middle School (Trumansburg, NY)
Music by Daniel Beneni; libretto by Evelyn Woe
The Farthest Hill
by Adeline S. (Homeschool)
Music by Joseph Kosik; libretto by Eileen Byrne & Joseph Kosik
I Stumble as I Step
by Susanne G. from Ithaca High School (Ithaca, NY)
Music by Charlie He; libretto by Eileen Byrne
Cryptids: A Field Guide (Opera Title: The Next Top Cryptid)
by Jameson D. from Warren L. Miller Elementary (Mansfield, PA)
Music by Zachary Sloan; libretto by Marshall Frey & Zachary Sloan
A Plea from the Sea
by Silas P. from Sherburne-Earlville Elementary School (Sherburne, NY)
Music and libretto by Jack Ehrichs
Saccharine
by Amber C. from Montrose Area High School (Montrose, PA)
Music by Kyle McAfee; libretto by Evelyn Woe
Sat. May 9 at 3 pm
Performed in English
90 min with no intermission
Tri-Cities Opera Center
315 Clinton Street
Binghamton, NY 13905
April 18, 2026
May 19 & 21, 2026
Pianist and vocal coach, John Cockerill, is the Assistant Conductor for Tri-Cities Opera. He has also served on the music staff of Des Moines Metro Opera and Seagle Festival in Schroon Lake, NY. He holds an M.M. in Musicology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an M.M. in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Recent music direction credits include La bohème, The Fantasticks, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Great Gatsby at Seagle Festival, and Mystery on the Docks, Stone Soup, Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, and Suor Angelica for Tri-Cities Opera. John has also been active in musical theatre. He made his off-Broadway debut at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2017, and he was nominated for a Jeff Award for Bonnie & Clyde in Chicago. You can hear him as a featured pianist on the recording of Rosśa Crean’s The Great God Pan (Navona Records, 2017).