We are now in the process of introducing all jobs in the opera company.

As a writer, a chief responsibility is composing song lyrics. Given a familiar story about fishermen from The Congo, small groups set to work crafting lyrics for an aria to be sung by one of the main characters, Benguela.

Generally speaking, learning to work collaboratively is no easy feat. But today, teams settled quickly into a productive flow. There was immediate interest and engagement in the task.

I was delighted to see students who struggle with writing take the pen and lead their peers in this creative pursuit. The classroom was abuzz with unique ideas and lively discussion. To my surprise, several groups broke into song, tapping rhythms and singing melodies to accompany their words.