Friday, January 9, 2009

A visit from the President (and some snow)

We're getting hit pretty hard right now with snow here in Madison, but that isn't stopping President and CEO of Opera America Marc Scorca from coming out to Wisconsin for a visit with us. Tomorrow, Mr. Scorca will lead a discussion with the Madison Opera Board of Trustees and staff on "best practices" in the opera industry, in addition to presenting a comparative analysis of Madison Opera's operations against other similar sized, American opera companies. He'll also be gearing the Board up for the start of our strategic planning process.

Translation? Madison Opera has grown considerably in recent years, and it's time to ask those existential questions of identity ("who do we want to be?" and "where are we going?") and from there really focus on how we can continue to grow healthily and maximize our impact in the community. Mr. Scorca's visit is a unique and exciting opportunity for us, and I'm sure it will generate much positive energy and practical awareness as we look to the future. More to come on this next week.

Also on the docket for today is a High School Apprenticeship Program event in collaboration with the UW School of Medicine Division of Otolaryngology-Voice Clinic. Our apprentices--all high school vocalists--will be meeting with a speech pathologist at the Voice Clinic for a tour and to learn about healthy practices for singers. They'll also have a chance to see their own vocal cords on camera, which I'm sure will be equally gross and cool!

^Photo (C) The Capital Times.

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