Dr. Rochelle Ellis striking a dramatic pose and soprano Emily Margevich
(PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ) -- On Friday, May 8, 2026 at 4:00pm, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents Music That Tells a Story, a free event for anyone who has ever dreamed of being an opera star. The presentation will take place at Westrick Music Academy (231 Clarksville Road, Suite 8) in Princeton Junction.
Hosted by the Princeton Festival Guild, this engaging workshop will give attendees the chance to experience singing in the operatic style. Princeton University voice professor Dr. Rochelle Ellis and soprano Emily Margevich, a Company Artist with OperaDelaware, will cover the difference between singing for Broadway and opera. Singers of all ages and ability levels are welcome to come to watch and participate.
Participants will be eligible to enter to win two free tickets to Puccini's Madama Butterfly, June 12 & 14 at the Princeton Festival, and an upcoming Westrick Music Academy Concert this season!
The Music That Tells a Story series, founded in 2015, became a PSO BRAVO! education program in 2025, and honors the legacy of long-time Princeton Festival supporter Takako Lento. Music That Tells a Story was created to expand audience appreciation of and interest in operas presented during the Princeton Symphony Orchestra's annual Princeton Festival by offering free public workshops, lectures, and similar events. Presentations ranged from "Opera 101" introductions to the genre to "Opera Bootcamp," a five-hour immersion combining vocal instruction with in-depth opera discussions, plus back-stage tour and observation of a rehearsal.
In December 2025, the Park Lento Charitable Fund established the "Takako Lento Music That Tells a Story Fund" with a foundational gift of $200,000 to endow the program in perpetuity. Together with an additional major gift from Thomas V. Lento, this fund will generate ongoing operational funding for these activities and will allow the PSO to expand the scope of the program to explore other genres of music beyond Opera. The Lentos and PSO welcome contributions to the Fund. Call (609) 497-0020 for information.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey's finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Its flagship summer program the Princeton Festival brings an array of performing arts and artists to Princeton during multiple weeks in June. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending a live orchestral performance. The PSO receives considerable support from the Princeton community and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, regularly garnering NJSCA's highest honor. Recognition of engaging residencies and concerts has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the PSO's commitment to new music has been acknowledged with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
