By Aaron Fiedler, Arts & Science Council

During our first year producing Random Acts of Culture™ we have been fortunate to bring opera, dance and orchestral music to venues as diverse as a Belk department store and Charlotte Douglas International Airport. As planning began for the next year we saw a wonderful opportunity to expose younger audiences to Charlotte’s cultural offerings. And we were lucky to find excited partners in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Northwest School of the Arts (NWSA) and Davidson College.

First up was NWSA on Monday, October 10. Three performers from Opera Carolina were ushered into the cafeteria at the peak of the lunch time rush surprising and wowing high school and middle school students. The performers sang arias from La Boheme, La Traviata, Rigoletto and L’Elisir d’Amore, and for six minutes transformed the cafeteria into their stage. At the end of each performance students clapped, cheered and hollered. It was one of the most electrifying RACs we have had to date.

Davidson College got the Opera Carolina experience a couple of weeks later. The singers performed for surprised students in the cafeteria, student union and during an afternoon class change. Students thanked the singers, took photos and video. Even newly installed Davidson President Carol Quillen took in an RAC.

We continue to be amazed by the reactions of audiences who have experienced a Random Act of Culture. They laugh, sing, applaud, cry, ask for photos and most importantly ask where they can see the performers again. As always, we look forward to reporting on our Random Acts of Culture™ next month.