By Laurie Whittier
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Ever since her class paid a visit to Wind Crest in October, 13-year-old Sadie Garner has seriously been considering a career in music. If she does, she’ll always remember Karol Teiko, who sang for the New York Metropolitan Opera for nearly 25 years before moving to Wind Crest.

“I saw how passionate Mrs. Teiko was about her background, and that made me think that maybe I could do something like that, too,” says Garner.

Garner was one of several dozen middle school choir students from Cherry  Hills Christian School who visited Wind Crest on Oct. 11 as part of the school’s Ministry in Motion service.

“Since this was our music class, the kids started out with a musical performance,” says music teacher Beth Anderson. After that, something magical happened—polite silence gave way to bright smiles and surprised gasps as residents told stories of their passions, careers, and accomplishments.

Making impressions
The students listened to Bill Koch on his historical contributions as a nuclear physicist. They learned all about Marinell Orton’s life as an artist and her giant painting of Quebec that’s on display 2,100 miles away. And they delighted in hearing about Teiko’s experience singing for the New York Met.

“That was really fun,” says Garner. “We learned a lot, we got to have lunch with them, and a lady named Priscilla even taught us the Electric Slide!”

Teiko was equally impressed by the students—including a young man who performed some difficult piano pieces by 19th century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. “I was really bowled over by him,” she says.

Shortly after, another boy—who was a big fan of Giuseppe Verdi—asked Teiko if she’d ever performed in any of Verdi’s operas. “It was so neat to hear him ask about Verdi,” says Teiko. “When my kids were his age, they hadn’t even heard of him.”