<div dir="ltr"><div><img src="cid:ii_k362341d0" alt="PR Header.jpg" width="452" height="150"><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Chelsea District Library Brings Opera to Ages
9–99</span></b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">On a gray November week with unseasonably low
temperatures, Chelsea District Library (CDL) warmed the hearts and inspired the
minds of residents young and old with visiting soprano, Joy Jan Jones. Jones is
an independent, multi-genre singer, instrumentalist, writer, and producer.
Based in New York City, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center,
Rockwood Music Hall, and New York Fashion Week 2018 and 2019. Jones was a
featured performer in CDL’s 2018 Music in the Air and is a performer and social
media manager for Opera on Tap!, a not-for-profit organization that promotes
opera as a viable living and progressive art form. This model of making opera
accessible to non-musicians aligns perfectly with the library’s mission of
accessibility and celebration of the arts within our community. </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Joy’s visit began with an intimate solo
performance in CDL’s McKune Room, delighting her audience with </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">selections from her
repertoire including works by Debussy, Gounod, and Rachmaninov. Jones’s warm,
approachable personality and beautiful voice are a perfect introduction to the
art of opera, while still delighting even the most seasoned music aficionados. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Understanding schedule and accessibility
challenges for some of our community members, CDL collaborated with Chelsea
School District, United Methodist Retirement Communities, and Silver Maples of
Chelsea to engage community members young and old beyond this library
performance. Jones enjoyed three musically filled days in a variety of venues with
rave reviews!</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Beginning her tour at the Chelsea Retirement
Communities and Silver Maples, Jones discussed her work since her last visit in
2018 and performed a few selections. Emily Meloche, Silver Maples Director of
Programming and Wellness remarked, </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">“Our residents were utterly charmed and
entranced by Joy Jan Jones when she visited in the summer of 2018 and were
thrilled to have her come back to visit this November. Joy’s ease in front of a
group and willingness to share her story couple wonderfully with her stunning
soprano to make for a meaningful morning.”</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Encouraging the arts involves not only providing
entertainment but education, and what better place to start than our local
schools? Jones’s personality and talent captivated over 150 high school choir and
orchestra students in Choir Director Steve Hinz’s classrooms. Her
conversation touched on topics including careers in the performance arts and
the importance of building relationships and connecting with other artists.
Hinz graciously accompanied Jones on piano, as she couldn’t visit without
singing for the students! Recounting the visit, Hinz remarked, “</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">Our experience with her was
tremendous! Joy was great at sparking their artistic interest with brilliant
singing. Her story-telling about her professional success was humble but truly
excited the students about their potential future careers. Even if students
aren't heading into music, her description of any future careers brilliantly
described how they must be open to a diverse and changing path. The students
shared that they were ‘Overjoyed’ with her as a performer, speaker, and
life-filled person!"</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">From the high school, Jones moved on to South
Meadows Elementary School, where she engaged Sarah Radomski’s 4th grade
classroom in a scaled-down version of Opera on Tap’s Playground Operas program.
CDL Youth & Teen Librarian Jessica Zubik and Director Lori Coryell worked
with students in the weeks leading up to Jones’s visit to introduce
opera—specifically, students learned what an opera is and how music can be used
to show emotions and feelings, even if you don’t understand the words. They
learned the storyline of Donizetti’s <i>The Elixir of Love</i> and practiced a
little Italian leading up to Jones’s visit. </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Jones worked with students to teach them the
music and parts. Students were not expected to read sheet music. Instead, with
Head of Technology Ron Andrews at the keyboard, and Jones singing, the students
heard and repeated the verses. They caught on very quickly! After two classroom
visits, this program culminated with a performance of a snippet of the <i>Elixir
of Love</i>, where Jones performed the lead and was supported by a chorus of
beautiful 4th grade voices. The students loved this unique opportunity and it
was thoroughly embraced by South Meadows Elementary principal Stacie Battaglia,
who noted, </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">"We cannot thank
Chelsea District Library enough for bringing Joy Jan Jones here to South
Meadows; what an amazing opportunity for our students. Learning about and experiencing
opera is something these kids will always remember. I know they loved being a
part of it, and we loved watching them perform with Joy!"</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Chelsea District Library thanks Chelsea School
District, Silver Maples of Chelsea, and United Methodist Retirement Communities
for collaborating to provide access to this unique musical opportunity in our
community. For information about hosting future musical events, please contact
Chelsea District Library Director, Lori Coryell, at 734-475-8732 x.206.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:150%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:150%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">About Us: Chelsea District Library
is a not for profit organization whose mission is engage, inspire, and equip
through evolving services and resources. The Library currently serves 15,010
residents in the Chelsea area including the City of Chelsea plus Dexter, Lima,
Lyndon and Sylvan townships. More than 16,000 individuals visit the Library
each month.  For more information visit <a href="http://chelseadistrictlibrary.org">chelseadistrictlibrary.org</a>.</span></p></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="letter-spacing:0.2px;background:none;border-collapse:collapse;color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:proxima-nova,"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding:0px 7px 0px 0px;border-top:0px;border-right:3px solid rgb(229,114,0)"><img src="http://chelseadistrictlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2017-CDL-email-signature-graphic.gif" width="114" height="118" style="border:0px;margin-right:0px"></td><td style="font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding:0px 0px 0px 12px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;background:none;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;padding-bottom:5px;color:rgb(229,114,0);font-size:18px">Virginia Krueger</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px"><i>Marketing Assistant</i></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px"><span style="font-weight:700">Chelsea District Library</span></td></tr><tr><td width="20" valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;width:20px;color:rgb(229,114,0);font-size:14px">p:</td><td valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px"><a value="+17344758732" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">734.475.8732 x229</a></td></tr><tr><td width="20" valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;width:20px;color:rgb(229,114,0);font-size:14px">f:</td><td valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px"><a value="+17344766190" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">734.475.6190</a></td></tr><tr><td width="20" valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;width:20px;color:rgb(229,114,0);font-size:14px">a:</td><td valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px">221 S. Main Street | Chelsea | MI | 48118</td></tr><tr><td width="20" valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;width:20px;color:rgb(229,114,0);font-size:14px">w:</td><td valign="top" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:top;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px"><a href="http://chelseadistrictlibrary.org/" style="color:rgb(0,103,127)" target="_blank">chelseadistrictlibrary.org</a>  <span style="color:rgb(229,114,0)">e: </span><a href="mailto:vkrueger@chelseadistrictlibrary.org" style="color:rgb(0,103,127)" target="_blank">vkrueger@chelseadistrictlibrary.org</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-family:Roboto,RobotoDraft,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding-top:5px"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChelseaDistrictLibrary/" style="color:rgb(29,161,219);border:0px" target="_blank"><img width="25" height="25" src="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/184235/dev_images/signature_app/facebook_sig.png" style="border:none;width:25px;height:25px;max-width:25px;max-height:25px"></a>  <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaLibrary" style="color:rgb(29,161,219);border:0px" target="_blank"><img width="25" height="25" src="http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/184235/dev_images/signature_app/twitter_sig.png" style="border:none;width:25px;height:25px;max-width:25px;max-height:25px"></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div>