Podcasts about Fort Worth Opera

[@ 2 min] After an injury sidelined Alex DeSocio from a college football career, the baritone turned to the most logical alternative: opera. His young career has already taken him to Pensacola Opera, Opera Birmingham, Fort Worth Opera, and now the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's “Intelligence” at Houston Grand Opera… [@ 25 min] And then… it's the return of Friend of the Show Ryan Speedo Green. Speedo takes a ‘Free Throw' on how he scored the role of Emile Griffith in the high-profile Met debut of Terence Blanchard's “Champion”... [@ 35 min] Plus, in the ‘Two Minute Drill'… If you cancel yourself, does that count as Cancel Culture…? operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

We took a day trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Here, we got our true authentic cowboy experience! We saw Texas Longhorns paraded through the streets, “the Fort Worth Herd," by real cowboys and looked at some authentic cowboy hats. If you have time, stay for a rodeo!Visit the Fort Worth StockyardsThe Fort Worth Stockyards are one of the city's top attractions. Step back in time and explore this iconic district, which is a National Historic District and home to the world's only twice-daily longhorn cattle drive. While there, check out the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and enjoy a night of live music and delicious Texas cuisine. Over at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.Explore the Cultural District The Cultural District is home to some of Fort Worth's best museums, galleries, and performing arts venues. Spend an afternoon exploring the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Then, catch a show at Bass Performance Hall or the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, The Fort Worth Opera. Other A+ Venues Include:Billy Bob's Texas continues its decades-long run of delighting visitors by hosting some of the best performers and artists in the land. Legendary Texas musician Charlie Robison, Nashville Star Season 4 winner Chris Young and red dirt band Reckless Kelly are just a few of the acts coming to the World's Largest Honky Tonk. Don't forget to go early for the bull riding.Enjoy a Day at the Zoo.The Fort Worth Zoo is one of the top-rated zoos in the country and features over 7,000 animals from around the world. Spend the day exploring the habitats, watching the animal shows, and enjoying the rides and attractions. Explore the Water & Botanic Gardens.The Fort Worth Water Gardens are a must-see for any visitor. This beautiful park features three distinct pools, including a large upper pool, a recirculating stream, and a lower pool. Take a walk around the gardens and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. Step into a blooming paradise at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens this spring! With over 2,500 species of plants and flowers bursting with color and fragrance, you'll feel like you're in a fairy tale. Take a stroll through the peaceful Japanese Garden or explore the vibrant Rose Garden.Taste Delicious Food in Fort Worth! The city is home to some of the best restaurants in Texas, serving a variety of cuisines. Sample some local favorites like Tex-Mex, barbecue, and steak. Or, try some of the city's unique fusion dishes, such as tequila-lime shrimp. No matter what you're looking for in a vacation, Fort Worth has something for everyone. From the unique cowboy culture to the delicious food, there's something for everyone in this vibrant city. So, come and explore all that Fort Worth has to offer. Some favorite food spots include Fred's Texas Cafe, & the Swiss Pastry Shop.On a side note, even the chains taste better in Texas. Try Torchy's Tacos - a must-taco fast food spot that tastes better in Texas!Seasonal things to do:Wear your house costume or colors and attend the 5th Annual Hogwarts Ball Crawl on August 19. This ball includes themed drinks at local bars, wands, and more.Party with the top taco chefs in DFW at the Second Annual Tacos and Tequila Festival on May 20. This festival includes live performances by Flo Rida and Ja Rulesalsa, queso competitions, a Chihuahua Beauty Pageant, and Lucha Libre wrestling!

Jennifer Rowley is a soprano who is acclaimed worldwide for her voice and stage presence, and for her wide variety of roles that have spanned many of opera's greatest heroines. She has appeared at The Metropolitan Opera in lead roles including in Cyrano de Bergerac, Tosca, Il Trovatore and La Boheme. Throughout her career she has also performed at Opernhaus Zurich, Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Staatsoper Berlin, Opera National de Paris, the National Theatre Prague, and the Royal Opera House in London. Jennifer also recently created her own summer festival in Sarasota, called Jennifer Rowley's Aria Bootcamp. She has been a Artist in Residence at Baldwin Wallace University, Fort Worth Opera, and the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia, and is sought after for her seminars and masterclasses. 

Angela and Joshua welcome dramatic soprano and Artistic Director of the Fort Worth Opera, Afton Battle. Known for her tenacity, vision, and unapologetic commitment to programming operatic works that are a true reflection of the communities they serve, Ms. Battle outlines the importance of intentionality in a field that continues to push Black and brown artists to the margins. Featured Music:"Fruhling," by Richard Strauss, feat. Jessye Norman"Agnus Dei," from An African-American Requiem by Damien Geter"Triumphal March," from Aida by Verdi Statement from Ms. Battle:"The most disrespected person in America, is the Black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman." - Malcolm XOn July 5, 2022, I made the difficult decision to resign from Fort Worth Opera. I did not step into this lightly. However, when respect is no longer being served, I must protect myself, and leave the table."Support the show

[@ 3 min] On 10/30, opera's biggest competition crowned this year's winners. On 10/31, Classical Singer Forum replaced the face of the competition's creator with that of Harvey Weinstein, congratulating “opera Institutions who remain complicit with sexual predators.” Will you, our beloved and woke OBS listeners, now *also* be complicit for learning the results of Operalia 2022…? [@ 24 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill'… FOS Afton Battle is moving on from Fort Worth Opera and asks, “What part of that do you not understand…?” Next week, we go ‘Inside the Huddle' with the team behind “Gods of the Game”, the football opera that opened last month at Grange Park Opera... Join us! operaboxscore.com facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

In this special audio report from Arts Access, the new journalism partnership powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA, arts reporter Jerome Weeks examines why Fort Worth Opera leader Afton Battle is quitting the company after only two years — the third general director the company's had in five years. She was one of the very few Black American women ever to run an opera company. Find more of our special audio reports at dallasnews.com/listen.

"Being part of an ensemble taught me to look not just at my line but at all the music. The composer gives you so much information in the orchestra that you don't get from just the vocal line. That really informs your character. It allows me to be more fun and more creative if I can focus on being part of the whole at any given time."Bass Benjamin Sieverding of Minneapolis, MN has gained notice for his “resonant, expressive bass” (StarTribune). He most recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut as one of the Offstage Voices/Jury in Brett Dean's Hamlet. In 2022, he also made his Intermountain Opera Bozeman debut as Mr. Noble (Pish-Tush) in The Montana Mikado. In 2021, he made his Tulsa Opera debut as Betto in Gianni Schicchi and his Omaha Symphony debut performing excerpts from Mozart's Requiem and Handel's Messiah. In 2020, he was slated to return to Minnesota Opera to sing the roles of Bull and Neal in the world premiere of Edward Tulane, to make his Austin Opera debut as the Mandarin in Turandot, reprise the Dough's Mate in Companionship with Virginia Arts Festival, reprise Doctor Grenvil in La traviata with Out of the Box Opera, and return to Mill City Summer Opera as Sparafucile/Ceprano in Rigoletto. Mr. Sieverding has performed several roles with Minnesota Opera including Alfred Austrian in The Fix, Prison Warden George Benton in Dead Man Walking, Colline in La bohème, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, Sacristan in Tosca, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. Other recent performances include appearances with South Dakota State Symphony, Madison Opera, Glacier Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, Opera in the Heights, Opera South Dakota, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Madison Symphony Orchestra. In the upcoming season, Mr. Sieverding returns to Minnesota Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and Madison Opera.To get in touch with Ben, you can visit his website: www.benjaminsieverding.com.Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels

Rising tenor Limmie Pulliam continues to thrill audiences with his captivating stage presence and his “stentorian, yet beautiful,” sound.  Pulliam was recently praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for his "full-throated vocal power, and intimate lyricism,,' with his recent debut at Livermore Valley Opera in Verdi's Otello. The 2021/22 season has been highlighted by his highly-anticipated L..A. Opera debut as Manrico in Verdi's Il Trovatore where he was lauded by the Los Angeles Times for his "healthy, focused, ringing tenor."  He followed that with a successful role debut as Turiddu in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana with Vashon Opera.  Upcoming performances include his company debut with Livermore Valley Opera in the title role Verdi's Otello,  his company debut in Fort Worth Opera's A Night of Black Excellence Concert, and his rescheduled appearance with The Memphis Symphony Orchestra as the tenor soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. He is set to take the stage once again as Verdi's Otello in his highly-anticipated debut with The Cleveland Orchestra. 

“Sparkling” mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh has been praised for her “wondrouslyflexible voice,” “prodigious vocal skills,” and “richly textured and strong lower register” (Vocedi Meche). OperaWire has praised her “vocal power,” “enchanting voice,” “velvety mezzosoprano,”and “abundant vocal and dramatic technique, with no shortage of soaring high notesand flexible roulades.” She won The American Prize in Vocal Performance in 2020 and thenperformed a benefit concert for The American Prize that featured world premieres of works by eight composers. Madison has performed Ernesta (Un avvertimento ai gelosi) at Caramoor, Delia (Il viaggio a Reims) with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and Alto Soloist (Messiah) with New Amsterdam Opera. In 2022, she performed in concerts with Gulfshore Opera and will sing the title role in La Cenerentola with Fargo Moorhead Opera, the title role in Giulio Cesare with Connecticut Lyric Opera, and Francesca Da Ponte in the premiere of Da Ponte, by composer Roger Neill and librettist Neil Cohen. In 2021, she sang Beppe in Teatro Grattacielo's production of L'amico Fritz at the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, the Domme in Three Way with Fargo Moorhead Opera, Melissa in La liberazione di Ruggiero with Connecticut Lyric Opera, Ruggiero in Alter Ego Chamber Opera's production of Alcina REVAMPED at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and Lola Lowell in the virtual premiere of Theodore Christman's opera The Impresario and the Dueling Divas with Mo. Eve Queler. Madison has also performed Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the title role in Carmen, Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Cesare (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Sara (Roberto Devereux), Giovanna Seymour (Anna Bolena), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and lead roles in the world premieres of six operas. She has premiered song cycles and other works by composers such as Peter Breiner, Paula Kimper, Roger Neill, Amy Scurria, Jeff Shankley, Myron Silberstein, Webster Young, and Paul Ayres. In 2019, she joined Eve Queler as a soloist in her 25th annual Bel Canto Opera Concert. She has been featured as a soloist in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, the DiMenna Center, and the Teatro Rossini. She covered the title role in Tancredi and sang the Eco in the inaugural season of Will Crutchfield's Teatro Nuovo. In 2019, she performed the role of Prinz Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) at the Wiener Kammeroper as a result of winning First Prize in the Vienna Summer Music Festival Competition. She worked with the late Mo. Alberto Zedda as a young artist of the Accademia Rossiniana in 2014 and was an Apprentice Artist of Sarasota Opera in 2018. Last season, she was presented in a solo virtual concert in the Kravis Center's series Kravis @ Home. “Sparkling” mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh has been praised for her “wondrously flexible voice,” “prodigious vocal skills,” and “richly textured and strong lower register” (Voce di Meche). OperaWire has praised her “vocal power,” “enchanting voice,” “velvety mezzosoprano,”and “abundant vocal and dramatic technique, with no shortage of soaring high notesand flexible roulades.” She won The American Prize in Vocal Performance in 2020 and thenperformed a benefit concert for The American Prize that featured world premieres of works by eight composers. Madison has performed Ernesta (Un avvertimento ai gelosi) at Caramoor, Delia (Il viaggio a Reims) with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and Alto Soloist (Messiah) with New Amsterdam Opera. In 2022, she performed in concerts with Gulfshore Opera and will sing the title role in La Cenerentola with Fargo Moorhead Opera, the title role in Giulio Cesare with Connecticut Lyric Opera, and Francesca Da Ponte in the premiere of Da Ponte, by composer Roger Neill and librettist Neil Cohen. In 2021, she sang Beppe in Teatro Grattacielo's production of L'amico Fritz at the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, the Domme in Three Way with Fargo Moorhead Opera, Melissa in La liberazione di Ruggiero with Connecticut Lyric Opera, Ruggiero in Alter Ego Chamber Opera's production of Alcina REVAMPED at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, anLola Lowell in the virtual premiere of Theodore Christman's opera The Impresario and theDueling Divas with Mo. Eve Queler. Madison has also performed Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the title role in Carmen, Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Cesare (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Sara (Roberto Devereux), Giovanna Seymour (Anna Bolena), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and lead roles in the world premieres of six operas. S has premiered song cycles and other works by composers such as Peter Breiner, Paula Kimper, Roger Neill, Amy Scurria, Jeff Shankley, Myron Silberstein, Webster Young, and Paul Ayres. In 2019, she joined Eve Queler as a soloist in her 25th annual Bel Canto Opera Concert. She has been featured as a soloist in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, the DiMenna Center, and the Teatro Rossini. She covered the title role in Tancredi and sang the Eco in the inaugural season of Will Crutchfield's Teatro Nuovo. In 2019, she performed the role of Prinz Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) at the Wiener Kammeroper as a result of winning First Prize in the Vienna Summer Music Festival Competition. She worked with the late Mo. Alberto Zedda as a young artist of the Accademia Rossiniana in 2014 and was an Apprentice Artist of Sarasota Opera in 2018. Last season, she was presented in a solo virtual concert in the Kravis Center's series Kravis @ Home. She also sang in virtual events presented by Fort Worth Opera, Maryland Opera, and the Art Song Preservation Society of New York. She performed one of the 22 ariette by Vaccai in Will Crutchfield's video “Bel Canto in Thirty Minutes,” which also includes singers such as Lawrence Brownlee, Jennifer Rowley, Lisette Oropesa, Angela Meade, and Tamara Mumford. She later collaborated with Mo. Crutchfield on a recording for Teatro Nuovo's Bel Canto Collection. She performed one of the 22 ariette by Vaccai in Will Crutchfield's video “Bel Canto in Thirty Minutes,” which also includes singers such as Lawrence Brownlee, Jennifer Rowley, Lisette Oropesa, Angela Meade, and Tamara Mumford. She later collaborated with Mo. Crutchfield on a recording for Teatro Nuovo's Bel Canto Collection.

I am honored and excited to have my friend Maren Weinberger Maddry on the podcast! Maren's artistic journey led her to be a professional opera singer. In our conversation we walk through her journey of deciding to pursue opera and both the highs and lows she's experienced throughout her professional career. We also chat about the mental, emotional, and physical strength it takes to be a professional opera singer. Maren shares about highlights such as performing with The Glimmerglass Opera Festival, her time with the Fort Worth Opera, and participating in various competitions including the international Lotte Lenya Competition where she won Second Prize in 2013.We talk about the vulnerability it takes to be a performer and the importance of taking time to reflect on our “why.” Towards the end of our conversation, you will get to hear about Maren's new business The Mill and Refill, which is a small batch, freshly milled flour company. She combines her love of food and cooking with her love of building community and bringing people together. May you be encouraged as you listen to Maren share about her journey!Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Maren's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/creativeimpactpodcast)

As a tenor specializing in 21st century repertoire, Jonathan Blalock created over a dozen roles in world premieres with companies including the Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, the Center for Contemporary Opera, Fort Worth Opera, the PROTOTYPE Festival, and UrbanArias. In 2019, he was featured in the new opera recordings of Paul's Case (by Gregory Spears) and the Grammy Award winning Fantastic Mr. Fox (by Tobias Picker). In concert, Jonathan recently performed with Winston Salem Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Opera Hong Kong, Arizona MusicFest, Wichita Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Syracuse Symphoria, Washington Chorus, and the Guggenheim Museum. A native of Burlington, Blalock earned Master of Music degrees in both vocal performance and choral conducting from UNC Greensboro.  Soprano Kinneret Ely is a freelance opera singer based in New York City and Tel Aviv. She was a young artist with Teatro Grattacielo's Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy in 2021. As part of it, she sang Ilia in IDOMENEO ALLA BREVE at the Rhodes International Festival in September 2021. She covered the roles of Anna in Catalani's LORELEY and the Fata Azzurra in Respighi's LA BELLA DORMENTE NEL BOSCO in Teatro Grattacielo's 25th Anniversary Concert in September 2019. She sang Violetta in LA TRAVIATA in July 2018 at the Jerusalem International Opera Masterclass (JIOM). She rejoined Teatro Grattacielo for their film production of Giordano's FEDORA as Un Piccolo Savoiardo, and covering the role of Dimitri. Her performed roles also include Gilda in RIGOLETTO, Madame Cortese in IL VIAGGIO A REIMS, and Rosina in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. She was a semifinalist in the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Vocal Competition and Camerata Bardi International Vocal Competition in 2021, and also in the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Vocal Competition and the Rochester International Vocal Competition in 2020. Her YouTube channel has more than 38,000 views. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Special Honors from Hunter College, from which she graduated cum laude, designing her own degree there in languages, history, and literature through their Thomas Hunter Honors Program. She studied Italian at the Società Dante Alighieri in Siena, French at the Alliance Française in Paris, German at the Goethe Institut in Berlin, and Russian at the Derzhavin Institute in St. Petersburg.  Kinneret's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KinneretEly Jonathan's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jblay100  

What does it take to rise to the top of an arts organization? And what does it take to break through the barriers of gender and race in order to reach that peak? Classical arts organizations across the US—including opera companies and symphony orchestras—are engaged in an important moment of self-reflection on the subjects of leadership and representation. In this episode of UnMic'd, host Joe Specter is joined by Afton Battle, General Director of Fort Worth Opera and Deborah Borda, the Linda and Mitch Hart President and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, to discuss how these remarkable arts leaders reached the roles in which they serve today. What journey did they take as women in an industry led primarily by men? What obstacles did they face overtime in their rise into leadership? What advice do they have for future leaders, aspiring to follow in their footsteps? Come be inspired with us as Afton and Deborah share their stories and the impact they are continuing to have on the arts community.

In this episode of We'll Take the Wheel we chat with an amazing group of women who are making a big impact in our community: -Beth Worman, co-owner of The Missing Peace an autism therapy center dedicated to improving lives of the children with autism and other developmental disorders and their families. www.missingpeacetheraphy.com -Afton Battle, General Director for the Fort Worth Opera. www.fwopera.org -Tina Howard, the entrepreneur behind Leaves Book and Tea Shop in the Near Southside. www.leavesbookandteashop.com Plus, Trinity Metro Board of Directors member, Sylvia Alcala, shares her experiences with us working in transportation leadership.

[@ 4 min] In ‘Chalk Talk’, George, Oliver and Matt talk GOATs. (You know... Greatest. Of. All. Time.) In the aftermath of tennis GOAT Rafael Nadal’s victory in the French Open, we throw down on opera’s GOATs... [@ 20 min] One of the first Black women to lead an American opera company, Afton Battle goes 'Inside the Huddle' with Ashlee and Oliver. The singer turned administrator pledges to eradicate inequalities and spotlight the talents and skills of people of color both on the stage and behind the scenes at Fort Worth Opera... [@ 51 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, could a painting save Covent Garden…? [Listener Alert!] Starting October 21st, Opera Box Score is joining The Dallas Opera Network. Check it out at: dallasopera.org/tdo_network_episodes/ www.operaboxscore.com www.facebook.com/obschi1 @operaboxscore IG operaboxscore

I had the privilege to sit down with professional opera singer, Kaylee Nichols. She studied at McGill University and has gone on to sing with major companies in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Columbus. Kaylee has participated in the Dandelion Opera Institute and Fort Worth Opera's Masterclass Series. In this episode, we talk about some common misconceptions about opera and how it's truly one of the most emotionally immersive art forms. We also discuss how she's using her opportunities to help rising artists by giving an authentic behind the scenes look into every aspect of performing, from auditioning to what goes on backstage during a production. Make sure to follow her on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook @TheScrappyMezzo.

In this Bonus episode, Keturah speaks with Alejandra Valarino Boyer at Seattle Opera, librettist Mark Campbell speaking for Fort Worth Opera, and Mark Streshinsky at West Edge Opera, all about upcoming libretto and composer/librettist workshops and residencies taking place this fall. She also speaks to Campbell about the Campbell Librettist Prize offered through Opera America, and gives a shout out to Guerilla Opera, who recently had their presentations from their summer Libretto Lab.

Today's guest, Zachary James brings a wise and insightful approach to crisis. Having experienced different crisis in his personal life. Zachary James: International opera singer, Broadway & TV actor. BWAY/OFF-BWAY: Lurch in The Addams Family (Original Cast), Hassinger in South Pacific (Original Cast), Pasquale in The Most Happy Fella, Jo-Jo in Irma La Douce, Sweeney Todd, Coram Boy, Pirates of Penzance. TV/FILM: 30 Rock, Murphy Brown, The Gift, ESPN Great Outdoor Games, Medici TV, Iowa Public Television, David Letterman, Tony Awards, Macy's Parade, CBS, NBC, PBS, WB, ESPN. OPERA/CONCERT: Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Teatro Real, Opera Philadelphia, LA Opera, Arizona Opera, Virginia Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Roanoke, Anchorage Opera, Central City Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Shreveport Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Ithaca, Knoxville Opera, American Lyric Theatre, Prototype Festival, Phoenicia Festival and more. “Friendships are such a reflection of our own selves and growing with friends is really special.” ~Zachary James Follow Zachary: Instagram: @_zachary_james_ Website: www.ZachJames.com Show Support & Sponsors: Become a Supporter of the Podcast Join me with YogaRenew Teacher Training Looking to use the same sound gear as I do in the show? My Microphone My Mic Preamp My Ring Light Connect with me on Instagram: Rumor_in_StPetersburg --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theluxuryofselfcare/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theluxuryofselfcare/support

A native of Kansas City, Ms Hager recited her Bachelor of Music degree at Texas Christian University, and regularly sang in the Fort Worth Opera. She went on to receive her Masters of Music at the University of Houston, under the tutelage of renowned tenor Joseph Evans. A graduate of Seagle Music Colony, Shreveport Opera’s Resident Artist Program, and Sherrill Milnes’ VoicExperience, she had ample opportunities to showcase her stand-out stage presence, including as a soloist at Epcot Center in Orlando. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/diane-winbush/support

The Two Gay Geeks have a chat with returning guests, Clint Borzoni and John De Los Santos, the Composer and Librettist of the Arizona Opera Commissioned work The Copper Queen. They share a bit about how the opera came to be and share some exciting news about the world premiere. We look forward to speaking with Clint and John more as the premiere approaches.   About Clint Clint Borzoni is the current Composer-in-Residence for Musica Marin, a nonprofit organization that presents, supports and inspires classical music throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. He is an award winning composer whose “highly original yet lyrical music…[and] natural gift for melody and harmonic structure” (The Huffington Post) has resulted in international performances and premieres. He has collaborated with librettist John de los Santos on the opera When Adonis Calls. The lyrical opera (fashioned entirely from the poetry of Gavin Geoffrey Dillard), was selected for inclusion by Fort Worth Opera’s Frontiers and Opera America’s New Works Forum. The world premiere at the Asheville Lyric Opera sold out. Their second collaboration, The Copper Queen, won the Arizona Spark competition, and is being fully commissioned by Arizona Opera. It will open the McDougall RED Series in the 2020/21 Season About John Director/choreographer and librettist John de los Santos has been called a “brilliant combination of literary insight and choreographic creativity.” He has staged a range of productions that include opera, musicals, plays, concert, and ballet. John’s first opera libretto with composer Clint Borzoni, When Adonis Calls, was selected for inclusion in Fort Worth Opera’s Frontiers showcase, performed in concert by operamission in NYC, and had its world premiere at Asheville Lyric Opera in 2018. John’s new collaboration with Borzoni, The Copper Queen, won the top prize Arizona Opera’s commission program, Arizona SPARK, and will have its world premiere in September of 2020.   About Arizona Opera and The Copper Queen The Copper Queen Synopsis This project focuses around the cultural lore of a real woman in Arizona history, Julia Lowell – an early 20th century woman who lived at The Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona. Ms. Lowell is alleged to haunt the hotel ever since her shocking suicide in the early part of the 20th century. The story is structured in a split narrative between Julia’s own time and a century later. This structure will allow for a contemporary character in the opera to offer their take on the life of this tormented woman, while also seeing simultaneously how Julia Lowell may have dealt with her difficult realities at the time of her death. Arizona Opera As is our mission, the Arizona Opera staff strives to elevate the transformative power of storytelling through the music—cultivating community, strengthening a state and people as adventurous and diverse as the place they call home. In our second segment we chat about and give our thoughts on the Netflix Original Series, The Order. In our third segment, we highlight recent articles posted to the tggeeks.com in the past week. As always we have our birthdays and we have the ever popular feedback segment. We welcome your feedback. Please, let us know what you think. Good or bad, we want to know and you could receive a shoutout in the feedback segment. Thank you for listening, we really do appreciate you taking time out of your day to spend with us.     Our YouTube channel is audio only:   Show Notes / Links: TG Geeks Episode 209 TG Geeks Episode 212 Ben’s Breakdown | The Orville 3 Episode Thoughts on Season 2 Regarding Ben’s “Gay” Breakdown | Love, Simon News Sushi #50: Morsels of News from Japan and Beyond News Sushi #54: Morsels of News from Japan and Beyond Roman Media’s 5th Annual Hollywood Event | TG Geeks Special Coverage At the End of the Day On Demand February 26th Dr.

Mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta is a multi-faceted artist with a variety of interests, a great take on mindful practice, and a truly wonderful personality.  In our conversation, we discuss, among other things, the importance of making choices that will allow you to thrive, how she prepares for a role, and how she uses mental practice to learn and memorize music at a deeper level. We elaborate on: Her journey from Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) to Toronto, New York, and, more recently Leipzig as a member of Oper Leipzig Her experience as a young girl in the Ottawa Youth Choir, and the importance it had in her becoming a professional singer Her experience at the Glenn Gould School and the Canadian Opera Company and the various opportunities she found there How making choices that fit her well were very important in her development and allowed her to thrive Her life as a member of Oper Leipzig Her fun, mindful way of curating a recital program that is meaningful to her How she prepares for a role How she went from a more repetitive form of working on songs to a more mindful and mental approach to practicing as she evolved as an artist o   Translate the text and understand the meaning o   Listen to various recordings and interpretations o   Break it down o   Memorize it How practicing mentally first thing in the morning and last thing before bed is tremendously effective for her and helps her cement the repertoire to memory How she has developed the skill to learn repertoire mentally, now that that is in a place where she feels confident about her technique How singers practice difficult passages How she brings operatic characters to life     ALL ABOUT WALLIS: Wallis Giunta's website Wallis' YouTube channel Wallis' Facebook page Wallis on Instagram The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Knickerbocker Classics) The Complete Sherlock Holmes (2 Volumes)   Irish-Canadian mezzo, Wallis Giunta, has been named “Young Singer of the Year” in the 2018 International Opera Awards, and was named both “Young Artist of the Year” by The Arts Desk and “Breakthrough Artist in UK Opera” in the What's On Stage Opera Awards for her work in 2017. She has been praised by OPERA NEWS for her “delectably rich, silver-toned mezzo-soprano, with a beautiful sense of line and effortless, rapid runs”, with her performance as Mozart's Sesto for the Canadian Opera Company celebrated as “a triumph…remarkable in its combination of intelligence and beauty”. Her 2018/19 season includes debuts with the BBC Proms Festival in a program celebrating Leonard Bernstein, with the Grange Festival as Cherubino at The Barbican, London, with the MDR Sinfonieorchester as Haydn's Berenice, and with the Royal Opera House Muscat in La Traviata. She also debuts the title roles in Carmen and Der Rosenkavalier, along with Rossini's Rosina for Oper Leipzig, and Idamante for Toronto's Opera Atelier. She began the 2017/18 season with two role debuts for Opera North, the title role in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortiléges, and Dinah in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, both to great critical acclaim. She returned to Oper Leipzig, where she has been an ensemble member since 2015/16, for her house roles of Angelina, Cherubino, Rossweise & Wellgunde, and debuted Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Der Gymnasiast in a new production of Berg's Lulu. She also returned to the Munich Radio Orchestra, Toronto's Koerner Hall and the Music & Beyond Festival in concert, and debuted at the Oregon Music Festival as Anna I in Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins. The 2016/17 season saw her debuts with Opera North, performing the title role in Rossini's La Cenerentola, with Teatro Communale di Bolzano as Cherubino, and with the Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony Nova Scotia in concert. Wallis returned to Opera Atelier to debut the title role in Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, and to both the Toronto Symphony and the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla for new productions of Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins. The 2015/16 season saw her make several major European debuts, including for Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Adams' I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky), Oper Frankfurt (Carmen), Oper Leipzig (La Cenerentola, Le Nozze di Figaro, Faust, Der Ring des Nibelungen), the Hamburg Symphony (Candide), and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in concert. She also returned to the Edmonton Symphony for Messiah and had her first experience teaching, with a series of masterclasses for Toronto's Tapestry New Opera. Early in 2015, she returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Olga in their new production of The Merry Widow, directed by Susan Stroman. Other recent highlights include returns to the Canadian Opera Company as Dorabella in Atom Egoyan's new production of Cosí fan tutte (2014), to Opera Lyra Ottawa as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (2015), and to Opera Atelier as Bradamante in a new period-production of Alcina (2014), along with debuts at Madison Opera (2014) and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra as Annio in La Clemenza di Tito (2013). In June 2014, she recorded her first album with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin (NAXOS), of a new work by American composer, William Perry. Wallis also debuted in 2014 with Toronto's 21C Music Festival in Louis Andriessen's one-woman-opera, Anaïs Nin, and brought her acclaimed recital program of Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins to Miami, New York, Toronto and Ottawa. She had a whirlwind 2012/13 season, making her Metropolitan Opera debut in Rigoletto, debuting the roles of Sesto & Annio in La Clemenza di Tito with the Canadian Opera Company, making her Paris debut with Le Théâtre du Châtelet as Tiffany in John Adams's I Was Looking at the Ceiling…, and singing Dorabella in the Met + Juilliard production of Cosí fan tutte at Lincoln Center. She also made debuts with Fort Worth Opera, L'Opéra de Montréal, the Edmonton, Seville and Nuremberg Symphonies, the Stuttgart Festivalorchester, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Wallis is a passionate recitalist, and has recently performed for the Aspen, Caramoor, Banff, Luminato, Music & Beyond, and Ottawa Chamber Music festivals. She is the grateful recipient of the 2016 Bernard Diamant Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, the 2013 Novick Career Advancement Grant, the 2013 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Career Development Award, and multiple prizes from the George London Foundation. Wallis is a 2013 graduate of both the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program & the Juilliard School's Artist Diploma in Opera Studies, and a 2011 graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. She has also studied at The Glenn Gould School, the Ravinia Festival's Steans Music Institute, and the International Meistersinger Akademie in Germany, and continues her private studies with Edith Wiens. Wallis is also devoted to animal rights, particularly the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned domestic rabbits. She is an active rabbit foster parent and finds opportunities to foster and volunteer at shelters as she is performing around the world. She is a volunteer and supporter at Rabbit's Rest Sanctuary & WildRescue in Denton, Texas, and works to draw attention to our societal responsibility towards domesticated animals. Please get in touch if you are interested and would also like to help!   If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review on iTunes!  I truly appreciate your support! Visit www.mindoverfinger.com for information about past and future podcasts, and for more resources on mindful practice. For added fun, join the Mind Over Finger Tribe on Facebook where you will find a community of mindful musicians!   THANK YOU: Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme!  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson. Also a huge thank you to my producer, Bella Kelly!   MIND OVER FINGER: www.mindoverfinger.com https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/     (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps cover some of the costs associated with the production of the podcast.  Thank you for your support.)

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante talks with Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte, and Chicana poet Ire’ne Lara Silva. We also address the havoc created by Trump's Deportation Force as experienced by activist and artist Karen, whose father was recently detained by Immigration Officials. Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte created the role of Renata in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, premiered by Houston Grand Opera in 2010 and revived in 2013. She has toured with this production to Paris, France; Lyric Opera of Chicago; San Diego Opera; Arizona Opera; Fort Worth Opera; and most recently, New York City Opera. She has been active in the circle of contemporary music, giving life to new roles such as Gracie in A Way Home (HGOco world premiere, 2010), Jessie Lydell in A Coffin in Egypt (HGO world premiere, 2014), First responder/Harriet in After the Storm (HGOco world premiere, 2016), Alicia in Some Light Emerges (HGOco world premiere, 2017), as well as chamber pieces. She can be heard in the most recent CD recording of Daniel Catán songs, Encantamiento. An early music enthusiast, Duarte sings often with Ars Lyrica Houston, Merury Houston, the Bach Society Houston, the Festivalensemble in Stuttgart, Germany, and the Festival de Musica Barroca de San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Other opera roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Sarelda in The Inspector, Tituba in The Crucible, Loma Williams in Cold Sassy Tree, and others. Duarte is also an active jazz singer. Ire’ne Lara Silva is the author of furia (poetry, Mouthfeel Press, 2010) and Blood Sugar Canto (Saddle Road Press, January 2016) which were both finalists for the International Latino Book Award, as well as flesh to bone (short stories, Aunt Lute Books, 2013) which won the 2013 Premio Aztlan. She and poet Dan Vera are also the co-editors of Imaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands, (Aunt Lute Books, 2017), a collection of poetry and essays. Ire’ne lara silva is the recipient of a 2017 NALAC Arts Grant, the 2014 Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award, the Fiction Finalist for AROHO’s 2013 Gift of Freedom Award, and the 2008 recipient of the Gloria Anzaldua Milagro Award, as well as a Macondo Workshop member and CantoMundo Inaugural Fellow. Board operators: Leti Lopez. Producer: Marlen Treviño. Co-host Lupe Mendez-Librotraficante Lips Mendez. NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston 24/7 The Other Side TV

Concert: CDMX: New Music from Mexico (Contemporary Mexico) Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes “her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life.” She was one of 6 composers involved in the acclaimed mobile opera Hopscotch. Alex Ross of the New Yorker called Hopscotch, “a remarkable experimental opera.” Her first opera, The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, was premiered at the New York City Opera's VOX 2008 festival. A full production was mounted in Los Angeles in August 2010 to sold-out audiences. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera, “Something novel this way comes.” Her newest opera Ghost Opera, a dramma giocoso with libretto by André Alexis and The Old Trout Puppet Company, will première with Calgary Opera at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in May 2019. Commissions and performances include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Industry, New York City Opera, Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Ensemble musikFabrik, Chicago Architecture Biennial (2016), Piano Spheres for Gloria Cheng, The Vancouver Symphony, ERGO Projects, Esprit Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, Jacaranda Music, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Krausas has music composition degrees from the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at USC in Los Angeles, where she is a faculty member in the Composition Department. She serves on the advisory boards of Jacaranda Music and People Inside Electronics.

Spending time with Jack Unzicker was a major highlight of my trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Jack is an assistant professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and is one of the most professionally active bassists in the region. We dig into all kinds of topics, like: what Jack's professional life looks like where the bass is headed what possibilities look like for music students private teaching modalities of practice Links to Check Out: Jack's Website Jack's UT-Arlington Faculty Page Jack and Jason chatting for Viva el Bajo Live in 2017 (YouTube) More About Jack: Jack Unzicker is the Assistant Professor of Double Bass at the University of Texas at Arlington and is a sought-after performer and educator. He has extensive and varied experience in all performance areas, from early music to contemporary, solo, chamber, and orchestral, as well as jazz and electric bass. He maintains an active performing schedule, over 300 performances since his appointment at UT Arlington in 2012. Raised in Juneau, Alaska, he began his musical studies with piano, guitar, and percussion and began performing as a professional bassist and teaching private lessons at the age of fourteen. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of North Texas, where he studied solo and orchestral performance, orchestral conducting, jazz studies, and early music with Jeff Bradetich, Paul Sharpe, Bill Clay, Anshel Brusilow, Lynn Seaton, and Lenora McCroskey. Dr. Unzicker earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Western Washington University where he studied jazz studies, performance, and contemporary music with Chuck Israels, Anna Doak, and Roger Briggs. Dr. Unzicker continued his studies at the Henry Mancini Institute, working with Bertram Turetzky, Christian McBride, and John Clayton, the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors, and the Pirastro Strings Elite Soloists Program. In 2016, Dr. Unzicker was a featured soloist with the Dallas Chamber Symphony, performing Hindemith’s Trauermusik. Upcoming projects include a recording for commercial release in 2017, of an ongoing duo project. This duo project is in collaboration with Dr. Martha Walvoord, UT Arlington violin professor, and contemporary composers to commission, perform, and record new works for violin and double bass. Composers include six-time Grammy-award winner Michael Daugherty, Roger Briggs, Andrea Clearfield, Tom Knific, George Chave, and Daniel M. Cavanagh. The duo will perform a recital at the International Society of Bassists 2017 Convention in Ithaca, NY on June 10, 2017. Dr. Unzicker’s recent chamber music performances include the Adams Chamber Symphony, Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, 2, 3, & 6, Beethoven Septet, Bruch Octet, Ginastera Variaciones Concertantes, Prokofiev Quintet, Stravinsky L’Histoire du soldat, and Brahms Sextet in B-flat Major, Svendsen Octet, and Schubert Octet with members of the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, and professors from Rice University and the University of North Texas. Dr. Unzicker is also principal double bass of the Dallas Chamber Symphony and Santa Fe Pro Musica. As an orchestral musician, Dr. Unzicker has performed with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Holland Symphony, Waco Symphony, and as principal of the AIMS Festival Orchestra (Austria), Dallas Chamber Orchestra, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Divertimento (Costa Rica), and Plano Symphony Orchestra. He has worked extensively with conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, as well as Jaap Van Zweden, Otto Werner-Mueller, Larry Rachleff, Rossen Milanov, James Conlon, Anshel Brusilow, and Gunther Schuller. As a pedagogue, Dr. Unzicker serves on the board of the Bradetich Foundation, a double bass performance and education organization, and is the Bass Forum Editor for the journal American String Teacher. He has been featured in articles on playing and teaching the double bass in The Strad, Bass World, American String Teacher, and Strings Magazine and frequently performs, adjudicates, and presents at the International Society of Bassists, American String Teachers Association, and Texas Music Educators Association Conventions. In the summers, he performs and teaches as Artist Faculty and as the Assistant Director of the Annual Bradetich Double Bass Master Classes. Current and former students of Dr. Unzicker have been accepted to undergraduate, graduate, and summer programs at the Colburn School, Juilliard School, University of Southern California, Boston University, Indiana University, University of North Texas, Florida State University, University of Texas, North Carolina School of the Arts, New World Symphony, Curtis Institute of Music Summerfest, Aspen Music Festival and School, National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, Interlochen Arts Camp, Round Top Music Festival, Texas Chamber Music Institute, and the WaBass Institute. The double bass studio at the University of Texas at Arlington has proudly hosted many guest artists recently, including Artist-In-Residence Eddie Gomez, Ira Gold, Milton Masciadri, Jeff Bradetich, Brian Perry, Aaro Heinonen, and the Bassinova Quartet. Dr. Unzicker performs primarily on instruments by Daniel Hachez and Albert Jakstadt, and a bow by Reid Hudson. Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:   The Upton Bass String Instrument Company.  Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr.  Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players. Check out this video of David Murray "auditioning" his Upton Bass! The Bass Violin Shop, which  offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Concert: Salonen & Sibelius Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes “her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life.” She was one of 6 composers involved in the acclaimed mobile opera Hopscotch. Alex Ross of the New Yorker called Hopscotch, “a remarkable experimental opera.” Her first opera, The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, was premiered at the New York City Opera's VOX 2008 festival. A full production was mounted in Los Angeles in August 2010 to sold-out audiences. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera, “Something novel this way comes.” Her newest opera Ghost Opera, a dramma giocoso with libretto by André Alexis and The Old Trout Puppet Company, will première with Calgary Opera at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in May 2019. Commissions and performances include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Industry, New York City Opera, Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Ensemble musikFabrik, Chicago Architecture Biennial (2016), Piano Spheres for Gloria Cheng, The Vancouver Symphony, ERGO Projects, Esprit Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, Jacaranda Music, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Krausas has music composition degrees from the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at USC in Los Angeles, where she is a faculty member in the Composition Department.  She serves on the advisory boards of Jacaranda Music and People Inside Electronics.

Concert: Mirga Conducts Mozart & Haydn Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes “her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life.” She was one of 6 composers involved in the acclaimed mobile opera Hopscotch. Alex Ross of the New Yorker called Hopscotch, “a remarkable experimental opera.” Her first opera, The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, was premiered at the New York City Opera's VOX 2008 festival. A full production was mounted in Los Angeles in August 2010 to sold-out audiences. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera, “Something novel this way comes.” Her newest opera Ghost Opera, a dramma giocoso with libretto by André Alexis and The Old Trout Puppet Company, will première with Calgary Opera at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in May 2019. Commissions and performances include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Industry, New York City Opera, Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Ensemble musikFabrik, Chicago Architecture Biennial (2016), Piano Spheres for Gloria Cheng, The Vancouver Symphony, ERGO Projects, Esprit Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, Jacaranda Music, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Krausas has music composition degrees from the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at USC in Los Angeles, where she is a faculty member in the Composition Department.  She serves on the advisory boards of Jacaranda Music and People Inside Electronics.

Featuring Amy Karp, of Amy Karp Photography, this episode of This Week in Weddings discusses how incorporating health and fitness into your life can positively impact your wedding business. About our guest:  Since 2006, nationally and internationally published award-winning photographer, Amy Karp, has specialized in weddings, underwater photography, and telling silly jokes. The underwater photography side of her career started as a fun creative outlet, and then she realized how passionate she was about this style of photography. She has been commissioned for underwater by the Fort Worth Opera, clients all over Texas, and even jumped the pond with a fabulous couple from CHINA! She often gets a lot of curious people asking “WHY?”. It’s not for the faint of heart… it’s for an adventurous client who really wants something unique and different. Before she began shooting weddings full time, she worked in the accounting field for 8 years and was pulling double duty as a full-time office manager, shooting whenever she could. She and her husband, Jon, decided to take their business full-time in 2008 just after their son Sam was born. Since then, they have been nationally published, served over 300 couples, recognized as the American Association of Certified Wedding Planner’s Photographer of the Year for two consecutive years, and are just as passionate about their craft as the day they started this journey.  In this episode, listeners will hear about: Amy's breaking point for change Fitting fitness into your weekly routine How incorporating fitness into your life can affect you on a wedding day Want to connect with Amy? On the web: http://www.amykarp.com/  Instagram: @amykarp / @karpcasa / Facebook: Amy Karp Photography

Concert: Dances of Death Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes “her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life.” She was one of 6 composers involved in the acclaimed mobile opera Hopscotch. Alex Ross of the New Yorker called Hopscotch, “a remarkable experimental opera.” Her first opera, The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, was premiered at the New York City Opera's VOX 2008 festival. A full production was mounted in Los Angeles in August 2010 to sold-out audiences. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera, “Something novel this way comes.” Her newest opera Ghost Opera, a dramma giocoso with libretto by André Alexis and The Old Trout Puppet Company, will première with Calgary Opera at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in May 2019. Commissions and performances include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Industry, New York City Opera, Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Ensemble musikFabrik, Chicago Architecture Biennial (2016), Piano Spheres for Gloria Cheng, The Vancouver Symphony, ERGO Projects, Esprit Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, Jacaranda Music, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Krausas has music composition degrees from the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at USC in Los Angeles, where she is a faculty member in the Composition Department.  She serves on the advisory boards of Jacaranda Music and People Inside Electronics.

Concert: Green Umbrella: All-Reich Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes “her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life.” She was one of 6 composers involved in the acclaimed mobile opera Hopscotch. Alex Ross of the New Yorker called Hopscotch, “a remarkable experimental opera.” Her first opera, The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, was premiered at the New York City Opera's VOX 2008 festival. A full production was mounted in Los Angeles in August 2010 to sold-out audiences. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera, “Something novel this way comes.” Her newest opera Ghost Opera, a dramma giocoso with libretto by André Alexis and The Old Trout Puppet Company, will première with Calgary Opera at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in May 2019. Commissions and performances include the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Industry, New York City Opera, Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Ensemble musikFabrik, Chicago Architecture Biennial (2016), Piano Spheres for Gloria Cheng, The Vancouver Symphony, ERGO Projects, Esprit Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, Jacaranda Music, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Krausas has music composition degrees from the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at USC in Los Angeles, where she is a faculty member in the Composition Department.  She serves on the advisory boards of Jacaranda Music and People Inside Electronics.

Born during his parents' flight from Cambodia in the wake of the Khmer Rogue genocide, Andrew Hem grew up poised in the balance between two cultures - the rural animistic society of his Khmer ancestors, and the dynamic urban arts of the tough Los Angeles neighborhood where his family eventually came to rest. Fascinated by graffiti at an early age, he honed his skills with graphics and composition on the walls of the city before following a passion for figure drawing to a degree in illustration from Art Center College of Design. Working in gouache, oil and acrylic, he weaves atmospheric, richly textured narratives in a vivid palette of twilight blues enlivened by swaths of deep red and splashes of golden light. His haunting impressions of culture and landscape evoke the life of the spirit through the visionary manifestation of memories and dreams. Over the six years since his graduation from Art Center with a B.F.A. in Illustration, Andrew Hem has exhibited in venues worldwide, from Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York and the Portsmouth Museum of Art in New Hampshire to solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Miami, Toronto, Zurich and Leece, Italy. He has lectured at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. His personal work has been featured in Beyond Illustration, the Society of Illustrators annual, Communication Arts, Spectrum, American Illustration, 3x3, Swallow and Hi-Fructose, among others, and his illustration clients have included The Atlantic, New Scientist, the Los Angeles Times, the Fort Worth Opera, Adidas and Lucky Brand Jeans. He lives and works in Los Angeles. www.artistdecoded.com www.instagram.com/artistdecoded www.twitter.com/yoshinostudios

VERONIKA KRAUSAS Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia, raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes "her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life." Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth “Something novel this way comes.” Performances ?include Ensemble musikFabrik (at the Darmstadt Music Festival), The Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Esprit Orchestra, The Vancouver Symphony, San Francisco Choral Artists, Alexander String Quartet, Fort Worth Opera, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Her work was an official selection of the US for the 2012 World Music Days in Belgium and she was the featured composer at the 2013 Céret Music Festival. She was one of the composers for The Industry’s mobile opera project Hopscotch. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has commissioned a work for 5 basses to be performed in a tent designed by artist Ana Prvacki in the fall of 2016. Krausas has music composition degrees from ?the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she is currently on faculty. www.veronikakrausas.com

VERONIKA KRAUSAS Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia, raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes "her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life." Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said of her chamber opera The Mortal Thoughts of Lady Macbeth “Something novel this way comes.” Performances ?include Ensemble musikFabrik (at the Darmstadt Music Festival), The Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Esprit Orchestra, The Vancouver Symphony, San Francisco Choral Artists, Alexander String Quartet, Fort Worth Opera, Motion Music, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Her work was an official selection of the US for the 2012 World Music Days in Belgium and she was the featured composer at the 2013 Céret Music Festival. She was one of the composers for The Industry’s mobile opera project Hopscotch. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has commissioned a work for 5 basses to be performed in a tent designed by artist Ana Prvacki in the fall of 2016. Krausas has music composition degrees from ?the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she is currently on faculty. www.veronikakrausas.com

Recovery opens the door to energy, vitality, and creativity—in other words, to our spiritual life. Special guest Melinda Wood Allen, singer/songwriter/actress/choral director, shares her music and how she finds the connection between her vitality and her spirituality. Melinda considers recovery principles a vital spiritual path, right along with Unity and New Thought. She sings in Unity and other New Thought churches and shares her music with a variety of recovery groups. Melinda is an accomplished artist who performs in many genres, from musical theatre to classical to jazz to gospel to folk. She has appeared with Fort Worth Opera, Southwestern Opera Theatre, toured widely with the Fort Worth Symphony's Best of Broadway series, and joined the Texas tour of the Michael Martin Murphy Band, singing country music (and yodeling), and regularly performs at Dallas-Fort Worth musical theater venues.  

When San Diego Opera recently announced its plans to fold after 49 years in business, a wide swath of the California arts community was stunned, including the musicians of the San Diego Symphony, which doubles as the opera company’s pit orchestra. “It surprised everyone,” said James Chut, the music and art critic for U-T San Diego, the region’s major daily newspaper. “People were reading it online and there wasn’t even an announcement.” On Monday, facing an outcry from employees, fans and politicians, the company’s board voted to delay the planned April 13 shutdown by two weeks while it considers its options. General artistic director and CEO Ian Campbell had previously said that it’s important to “go out with dignity, on a high note with heads held high,” rather than witness a prolonged downsizing and cutting back on quality. Ticket sales have declined 15 percent since 2010, ticket revenue has dropped about 8 percent, and big donors are harder to lure. On Tuesday,  the American Guild of Musical Artists, the singer’s union, filed the second of two unfair labor practice charges against the company. Chut tells Conducting Business that San Diego Opera has declined to consider alternative business models to stay afloat, relying instead on "a paradigm of grand opera that probably is from the ‘70s or ‘80s, in which regional companies represented a miniature version of the Metropolitan Opera, where you bring in big sets and big stars and have a big orchestra. If they’re going to do that business model or that artistic model, it’s probably not viable over the long run.” Chut believes that the future of regional opera lies in nimbler alternatives, whether it’s using black-box theaters or collaborating with theater companies. He cites the Opera Theater of St. Louis and Fort Worth Opera, two regional companies that reinvented themselves as spring festivals after decades as main-season enterprises. Chut also questions the need to stay in the San Diego Civic Theater, a plush 1965 venue with seating for nearly 3,000 patrons. “It seems like they’re tired,” Chut said of the board and administration. “The opera is in the black. They have cash reserves. They don’t have an accumulated deficit. But they are facing fundraising challenges of maybe having to raise $10 million next year." The company has given no indications yet of next steps. But whether they can attract investors after raising doubts about the Opera's viability remains a significant question. "San Diego is the eighth largest city in the United States," said Chut. "What does it say about us if we can’t have an opera company?” Listen to the full podcast above and please leave your comments below: What do you think is the right model for small opera companies in 2014?