CEDAR CITY – The annual Orchestra of Southern Utah Children’s Jubilee took place Saturday at the Heritage Center with the theme Bravo Opera, and entertained children with interactive art and science activities and a concert featuring opera music.

The concert, which ran for about an hour, included pieces from operas “Carmen,” “Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute),” “La Boheme,” and “The Mikado.”

Guest musicians were SUU Professors Carol Ann Modesitt, soprano, and Lawrence Johnson, tenor, as well as SUU vocal students Kim Padilla, Samantha Ontiveros, Corbin Iverson, Sarah Maxwell and Matthew Clegg.

The vocalists wore opera costumes, which added to the fun. The Utah Shakespearean Festival Playmakers started things off with a carnival procession, and after the concert Sir Isaac Newton invited everyone downstairs for activities.

The orchestra finished out the concert on its own, with the overture from “Der fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman)” by Richard Wagner.

After the performance activities were offered including face painting by Arlene and Hope Braithwaite and friends, interactive lessons on Newton’s Laws of Motion, and costume and mask design.

There were toy cars and race tracks demonstrating gravity and a “Newton’s Cradle,” a device with six hanging metal balls, demonstrating the law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Student Brittney Robinson showed children how if one ball on one end was pulled back and let go, one ball on the other end would move. If two balls were pulled back, two balls on the other end would move, and the same result occurred with four.

There were many other science activities for the kids to participate in, thanks to Laura Cotts, Jim Chisholm, and SUU science students.

Kids were able to decorate masks with a variety of materials and could also create costumes for miniature cutouts of people. Carrie Trenholm and the SUU Elementary Education Arts Integration students made those activities possible.

In the lobby displays created by local elementary students were set up, and there were musical instruments, gourd art and jewelry by Todd and Susie Prince, and face painting by Lydia Brescia.

Sara Penny, with the orchestra, said they sold more than 100 tickets at the box office and children of orchestra members were allowed to attend at no charge. She said they also did five elementary and two preschool assemblies before the event to try to expose as many kids as possible to the music, even if they couldn’t come to the event.

The orchestra also collected food for the Iron County Care and Share, offering one free ticket per family for canned food.

The orchestra wanted to thank all those who helped, mentioned above, and Benjamin Tyrell, Laurel Dodgion, Jessica Cowdin, the SUU costume construction class, artists and teachers from East and South Elementaries and Music Specialists Whitney Hopkins and Melissa Leavitt, the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Breakin’ Wind Kites, Cedar Music Store and Studio, Boyd Redington, Rollan Fell, The Print Shoppe, Heritage Center staff, Friends of Music Guild, and OSU musicians and support team.

The full Bravo Opera performance will be tonight at 7:30 at the Heritage Theater.