Wow!  What a wonderful (almost) three months this has been! We've traversed many miles, sang many hours and made

Oh no! Pamina!

so many new friendships. 

This week we ventured down to beautiful southern Oregon to elementary schools in Medford, Grants Pass, Jacksonville, Klamath Falls and back to Portland to perform three public performances at The Hampton Opera Center.

Since this is my last blog, I wanted to share a few of my favorite memories from these three months on the road...

During a Q&A at one school, a young Latino boy raised his hand and asked Claudia if she spoke Spanish.  When she responded (in Spanish), "Yes I do, do you?"  He answered, "Si!" and turned to his teacher with such a look of pride to be able to speak Spanish like one of the opera singers! This meant a lot to Claudia and all of her fellow POGOers as well!

Dear Tamino

Dru Rutledge here.  Or you might know me better as the 2nd Lady or Papagena. 

Let me tell you a story. A story about a fearless cast and their fearless leader (you can call her Alexis) who traversed the great lands of Oregon — crossing the beautiful Blue Mountains to meet some very tiny Astronauts, through the wonderful Wallowa Mountain range where they appeared to only be 'Halfway' there, and to the bustling hallways of the music school at Eastern Oregon University.  Maybe first, I should explain in greater detail...

Monday, your band of misfits — Samm, David, Stacey, Ainsley, Ksenia, Dru (that's me), Claudia, Anthony and Kevin woke early to assemble at the Hampton Opera Center. After some much needed fuel for both the van and the pianist, we headed towards Pilot Rock Elementary.  While we experienced a small detour on the way (due to a dragon slain in the middle of the road or something) we arrived in plenty of time for our first of two performances.  Welcomed by a live gym and great playing stage, we performed first for the Pilot Rock Astronauts and then for two different schools who had done quite a bit of traveling of their own.  We were told by the custodian that the two small but mighty schools had driven 60 minutes one-way to see The Magic Flute! After an insightful Q&A session POGO headed for the mythical land of La Grande!

As of Saturday, with the help of our fearless leaders, Alexis Hamilton & Kristine McIntyre, POGO has already completed the staging of The Magic Flute. Everyone is excited to bring this revival to the masses across the State. I, for one, may just bust from excitement before our second week of rehearsals can be completed. Our morning starts have been given a little boost by the close proximity of coffee and chocolate bars, but the ball quickly gets rolling and we’re off to the races for the rest of the day.
 

A few photos from our rehearsals!

We have lots of great treats to offer this year! Returning POGO members are Ainsley Soutiere as “Pamina,” (that's me!) Dru Rutledge as “Papagena / 2nd Lady,” Stacey Murdock reviving the role of “Papageno,” collaborative pianist David Saffert, and tour manager Samm Hawkins. We are also so excited to have new friends from all over the country join us! Anthony Ballard as “Tamino,” Claudia Chapa as “3rd Lady,” Kevin Bertin as “Sarastro” and Ksenia Popova as “The Queen of the Night / 1st Lady”. These new artists have so much to offer to POGO, the kids, and are fantastic singers to boot! Stay tuned to the blogs, you will love their approach to this experience.