FSPA Presents THREE LITTLE PIGS Opera 3/18, Franklin

The Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) will present Opera for Kids: The Three Little Pigs on Sunday, March 18, at 1:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA), 38 Main Street. This special program is the third concert in FPAC's Family Concert Series and is free and open to audiences of all ages. Opera for Kids and all FPAC Family Concerts are especially geared toward young children in length and format.

Arranged by John Davies and set to the masterful music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Three Little Pigs brings the beloved children's classic to life. The concert features three members of FSPA's voice faculty, Shauna Martin, Mariko Matsumura and Edwin Milham, as well as FSPA voice student, Samantha Millette. Pianist Scott Nicholas will accompany the vocalists.

With more than twenty years of teaching experience, Shauna has been a member of the FSPA Music Faculty since 2006. She holds a Master of Music Degree in Opera from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Music Degree from Brandon University. Martin's performances include a wide variety of operatic and musical theater roles, in works by classical as well as contemporary composers. She is a proud founding member of the humorous and popular children's show Opera Night in Canada.

A native of Tokyo, Japan, Mariko Matsumura received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance, with high honors, from the University of Montana and a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from Longy School of Music. Mariko's performance credits include Messiah, Aida, Hansel and Gretl, Der Rosenkavalier, The Magic Flute and numerous premiere performances throughout the Boston area. Mariko has been a member of the FSPA faculty since 2002.

Edwin Milham has performed as a vocalist with such organizations as LiveARTS Concert Series, the Lowell Opera Company, the Merrimack Valley Broadway Ensemble, the Savoyard Light Opera Company, the Newport Music Festival and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Ed holds Masters Degrees in Voice from New England Conservatory of Music and Conducting from the University of Massachusetts. Ed began teaching at FSPA in 2004.

A student at FSPA since 1999, Norfolk's Samantha Millette studies voice with Mariko Matsumura, acting, ballet and tap, and is a member of FSPA's musical theater troupe Broadway Light. Millette also participates in the School's Friend in Me Theater Company, a program pairing teens from FSPA performing ensembles with students with special needs to provide weekly musical theater experiences.

Opera for Kids will be the final concert in FPAC's 2012 Family Concert Series. FPAC's Family Concert Series is supported in part by a grant from the Franklin Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and by Berry Insurance. For more information, contact the Franklin Performing Arts Company at (508) 528-8668 or visit www.FPAConline.com.

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