Teen Opera Prodigy Will Help Launch Emlen’s COP Mural Project Phase 2
Save the date! Emlen’s Back To School Night
Tuesday, Sept. 26, 5 pm
6501 Chew St. (19119)
Free admission and open to the public.
America’s Got Talent Semi Finalist, at the age of 11? Opera Prodigy? Arielle Baril is all that, except today she is a whopping 14 years old! Arielle and her brother, Joshua Dufour (who taught her to sing), will be special guests at Emlen’s “Back To School Night” Tuesday, Sept. 26. They’ll be telling their stories and singing for the entire school! And what better launch for this next phase of the Community of Pride (COP) Mural and Literacy Project than to continue empowering children with community awareness and commitment while teaching art techniques, literacy, skill building, art history, and confidence. Arielle and Joshua will perform and speak about their experience as performing artists. They will also speak to pride…in your family, yourself, your culture, and your community. Want to know more? Check out Arielle on YouTube.
Arielle Baril, America’s Got Talent “Golden Buzzer” Semifinalist
We, at the Mt. Airy Art Garage, see our partnership with Emlen, with Arielle and Joshua and their family, and a host of others, as yet another way to dream—to share and empower our children and the entire community to be inspired and motivated.
This event is free and open to the public. You won’t want to miss this.
Get to know our Guests!
Arielle Baril is a 14 yr. old classical opera singer who was recently seen on Season 10 of America’s Got Talent. Arielle is a Golden Buzzer Act who made it straight to Radio City Music Hall Live Shows. As the youngest performer that evening, Arielle was given the honor of closing a live telecast at Radio City for AGT where she was a semifinalist. Arielle has served as Master of Ceremony, sang at Madison Square Garden twice, competed as finalist in top Classical competitions, and several other events by invitation.
She is represented by Headline Talent for television and film primarily, but her passion is classical/art music. Arielle Baril and her team plan on releasing a classical EP and especially a single which will lay the foundation for future live shows.
Arielle will be in the 9th grade at Abington Jr. High School. Arielle is considered a child prodigy with a voice beyond her years. She was trained by her then 20-year old brother Joshua who recently graduated Ithaca College and will attending Columbia this fall. He continues to mentor her vocally.
Arielle now studies vocal performance with Dr. Barbara DiToro of Temple University. Arielle is currently working on a classical crossover EP with her brothers Christophe and Joshua who are talented musicians themselves.
Arielle strives to empower underrepresented children everywhere with the idea that all genres of music are available to them. As an underrepresented image in the classical world and as young person who chose this genre over others, Arielle is looking to establish herself as an artist whose mission is to convey a message to her peers to dream beyond the glass ceiling.
Joshua Dufour
Joshua Dufour was born on February 23, 1995, in Drexel Hill, PA. He is the son of two Haitian immigrants. From a young age, Joshua’s passion has always been in the arts. At the age of 8, he joined the Archdiocesan Boy Choir of Philadelphia and sang with them for five years. He was a member of his high school’s concert and chamber choirs, the concert band and wind ensemble, the marching band and the drumline, as well as his high school’s musical theatre productions, presented at their very own Upper Darby Performing Arts Center. For his work in theatre, Joshua was nominated for the Cappie Award for Best Male Vocalist in the Greater Philadelphia area, as well as Best Male Critic.
It was during his final years of high school that his younger sister Arielle was old enough to start mimicking his singing around the house and imitating his operatic sounds. Joshua quickly realized that Arielle had a natural gift for the vocal arts and proceeded to train her in operatic soprano songs. Arielle’s unprecedented vocal ability soon led her to the America’s Got Talent stage where she received Heidi Klum’s Golden Buzzer and finished as a Semi-Finalist.
Joshua received his Bachelors of Science degree in Cinema & Photography, with a Concentration in Cinema Production and a Minor in Music, from Ithaca College in 2017. He has worked on various student films as a director, writer, producer, editor, and production designer. During his undergraduate education, he was a member of the Martin Luther King Scholars Program, a dynamic learning community dedicated to developing future leaders and global citizens through Dr. King’s legacy of social justice and equality. He received the Ithaca College Inspiration Award for his work in the community and on campus. This fall, Joshua is attending Columbia University’s School of the Arts to receive his Masters of Arts degree in Film Studies.
As a first-generation Haitian-American, Joshua believes a sense of self and culture is extremely important and he makes an effort to keep his Haitian roots intact. He is a firm believer that diversity is crucial to human development and that people must share their experiences in order to gain awareness of others. He dreams of becoming a director, producer, actor, and singer. His hope is to use his artistic voice to shine light on the social injustices of the world, spread awareness of race, culture, and ethnicity through artistic mediums, and give back to his brothers and sisters in Haiti.
Save the Date! Saturday, August 26 from 8 – 11 PM. Summit Presbyterian Church at 6757 Greene Street, Side Entrance (handicapped accessible). Tickets are now $20!
Everything old is good again.
Stephanie “Amma” Young 
