How’s it bee?
Courtney Miller presents: HOW’S IT BEE? with pianist and composer Rebecca Hass
How’s it bee? is an interactive children’s art song recital. Using theater, dance, puppetry, and illustrations, this enchanting program follows bees, butterflies, and other winged creatures around the garden. Courtney Fly and Rebecca Butterfly also engage the audience in writing a poem, dance, and drawing. The program features stories of self-acceptance, including Prokofiev’s The Ugly Duckling and Lenny the Leopard by Irving Fine. Wonderful Bay Area artists Nidhi Chanani and Kevin Okulolo contribute illustrations and animations for the program. While geared towards children, the show is for all ages.
Run time: ~45 minute with shorter versions available.
Optional puppet making activity can extend the program.
Performances:
Sunday, January 11, 2026
2:00-4:00 pm
Live Recording
Heiman Digital Studio at Opera San José
2149 Paragon Drive, San José, CA 95131
Free Admission with reservations here
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Sunday, January 18, 2026
7:00 pm
Selections from the program
Orinda Community Church
10 Irwin Way, Orinda, CA 94563
Suggested donation
Preliminary concept by Kevin Okulolo of Leaf Worthy
With Artists:
Courtney Miller - mezzo-soprano + curator + writer + director
A versatile performer lauded for her “fluent musicality” (Opera News), known for her “captivating stage presence,” “excellent sense of comic timing,” mezzo-soprano Courtney Miller excels across genres. An award-winning recitalist and concert soloist, Courtney is known for curating programs that tell compelling, highlighting works by female composers. The idea for “How’s it bee?” has been in the making for over a decade and she is thrilled to finally bring this multimedia, kid-friendly program to fruition.
In the 2025-26 season, she returns to Opera San José, Festival Opera, and debuts with Livermore Valley Opera as Despina in Così fan tutte. In the 2024-25 season, she returned to San Francisco Opera as Warren's Wife in The Handmaid’s Tale, made debuts with Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and West Bay Opera as Teresa in La sonnambula. This past summer, she returned to Pocket Opera as Elmire in Tartuffe after making her debut as Nancy in Albert Herring in 2023. Additionally, she has sung roles with Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and aboard Azamara Club Cruises. She is a San Francisco Opera Guild teaching artist.
Rebecca Hass - piano
Rebecca Hass is a pianist, composer, collaborative pianist, educator, and creative coach in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to creative curiosity and joy. She has extensive experience collaborating with classical performers, groups, and movement artists, including Diablo Women’s Chorale, Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs, Bella Musica, Payvand Vocal Ensemble, and Opera on Tap SF.
With a deep passion for Brazilian rhythms, Rebecca has been part of the Brazilian music scene in the Bay Area since 2019, and performs solo shows of her own compositions and arrangements, as well as with Som Dela, Lillian Yee, and other groups. Other collaborations include the Berkeley Choro Ensemble with multi-genre bassoonist Paul Hanson, Echo Chamber Orchestra, Diablo Symphony, and her newly-co-founded Women Composers Collective.
Rebecca’s debut Brazilian album, Florescer (Bloom), was described as “a delightful 43 minutes of musical sunshine”, and her 2024 album of original piano music, Bright Little Worlds, is an imaginative, heart-filled collection of 22 compositions in various styles. She is always designing new practices for herself, her students, and her creative coaching clients.
Andy Nguyen - dancer “The Ugly Duckling”
Andy Nguyen began his ballet training at the Jensen Center for the Performing Arts studying the Cecchetti method. He continued to pursue ballet and modern dance in college at the University of California, Riverside under the direction of taisha paggett, where he developed his training in Martha Graham technique. After earning his B.A. in Psychology, Andy returned to ballet and trained under the tutelage of Marny Trounson, a former Royal Ballet dancer under the direction of Sir Kenneth MacMillan and Sir Frederick Ashton. Andy currently dances as a Studio Company Artist with New Ballet San José and has had works created on him by choreographers such as Dalia Rawson, Keon Saghari, Mariana Sobral, and Erik Wagner.
Illustration and Animation:
“Polaroli”
Nidhi Chanani - Illustrations and Animation
Nidhi Chanani is an illustrator, author, and proud creator of joy. From daily drawings to award-winning books like Pashmina and Super Boba Café, her art blends heart, humor, and a dash of magic. Born in Calcutta, raised in southern California, and now creating in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nidhi is an active and engaged storyteller. Nidhi was honored by the Obama Administration in 2012 as a Champion of Change. Her debut graphic novel Pashmina received starred reviews and multiple honors. Other graphic novels including Jukebox, Shark Princess and Super Boba Café have been recognized by the American Library Association (ALA) as great graphic novels for kids among other honors. Her picture book Strong won an ALA Stonewall Honor. Nidhi’s work has been featured on PBS, CNN, BBC, NPR, and she has worked extensively with with Disney Parks.
“Lenny the Leopard”
Kevin Okulolo - Character design of “Lenny” + Original concept designer
Kevin Okulolo, creator of Leaf Worthy, is an animator, motion designer, and director with 15 years of industry experience in animation, storytelling, video, and social media marketing. Kevin has worked with international organizations (FEMA, Greenpeace, SEIU) on social change campaigns and environmental movements and supercharged the social media influence of tech startups (Discord, Xobni). When not bringing brands to life, Kevin is developing Gangsta Bean 3, an indie game where vegetable heroes battle against the forces of junk food. I'm also the creator of The Story of Khale, an anime short series exploring themes of identity and resilience.
Jessica Cornelison - Illustrator + Character design of “Lenny’s mother”
Jessica Cornelison is a digital illustrator who loves exploring the shapes and movements of humans and animals alike. Growing up with anime, Jessica takes heavy inspiration from the genre while reinterpreting modern illustration trends. Animals are often seen in Jessica's work; Jessica loves to pull from nature whether it's a plant or a fuzzy critter. Jessica mostly uses digital medium for finished pieces but enjoys doodling and creating ideas on paper, first. When Jessica's not drawing for fun or for work, she's playing video games, watching movies, or hanging out on her patio with her two cats. Jessica often tries new local restaurants, especially coffee shops, where she goes to work from time to time. Jessica is currently working full time remotely from her midtown apartment and is revisiting what it means to draw purely from the heart. You can view select projects from Jessica over the years at her website or follow her on Instagram @j.jcorn where she posts art she's made for fun.
Matte Mueller - Animation + Compositing
Matte Mueller is an animator, comic artist, and teacher currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their sequential artwork embraces visual noise and collage. Matte is always eager to explore and figure out new ways to chronicle the world around them.
Kelsey Borch - Artwork Support
Kelsey Borch is an illustrator and designer based in Chicago. They are passionate about cartooning, science, and weird lit.
“How’s it bee?” is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts. To make a tax-deductible donation to this project through every.org
Contributions enable us to reach more organizations for performances, hire more collaborators, pay artists for more illustrations and animations, and pay ourselves performance wages.
Intersection for the Arts. Intersection for the Arts is a historic arts nonprofit that provides people working in arts and culture with fiscal sponsorship and resources to grow.