General Session [
clear filter]
9:00am CDT
Opening Session
Speakers 
Music & Opera Director, National Endowment for the Arts
Ann Meier Baker was appointed the director of Music & Opera at the National Endowment for the Arts in January 2015. She oversees the NEA’s grantmaking in music and opera, and manages the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships. Previously, Baker served as president and CEO of Chorus America...
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Librettist, Independent
2020 Premieres: EDWARD TULANE, A NATION OF OTHERS, A SWEET SILENCE IN CREMONA, STONE SOUPS; 2020 Productions: ELIZABETH CREE, THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS, THE SHINING, SILENT NIGHT, AS ONE, THE OTHER ROOM, etc.
Kern Wildenthal General Director & CEO, The Dallas Opera
Keith Cerny’s career spans music, technology and business. He began studying piano at the age of 10, and made his debut two years later performing Beethoven’s first piano concerto with the Berkeley Youth Orchestra. He subsequently studied Music and Physics at the University of...
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Composer, Bent Pen Music, Inc
Projection Designer, Vermilion Border Productions
Ms. McCarthy's international career spans over 20 years in nearly every area of live performance. Her opera credits include Great Scott, Iolanta, La Wally/Everest, Tristan und Isolde, and Moby Dick with The Dallas Opera, Cold Mountain with The Santa Fe Opera, Mazeppa with The Metropolitan...
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General Director, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Timothy O’Leary has been General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis since 2008, heading a leadership team that includes OTSL Music Director Stephen Lord and Artistic Director James Robinson. Mr. O’Leary currently also serves as Chairman of the Board of OPERA America, the...
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Principal Guest Conductor, The Dallas Opera
Nicole Paiement (Opera Parallèle Artistic Director, Conductor, Founder) has gained an international reputation as a conductor of contemporary music and opera. Her numerous recordings include many world premiere works and she has toured extensively in the US and Asia. This past...
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Composer, Mannes College of Music
Praised as “strikingly original” (NY Times), Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music, creative music, and contemporary opera. Known for pushing the boundaries of form and style, she has created work for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (as 2023 artist-in-residence...
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Librettist, Self
Mr. Scheer’s work is noted for its scope and versatility. With the composer Jake Heggie, he has collaborated on many projects, including the critically acclaimed 2010 Dallas Opera world premiere, Moby-Dick, starring Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab; Three Decembers (Houston Grand Opera...
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President/CEO, OPERA AMERICA
Marc A. Scorca joined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Under his leadership, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to nearly 2,500 organizations and individuals. The organization has also administered two landmark funding initiatives in support...
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Artistic Director, The Industry
Yuval Sharon has been creating an unconventional body of work exploring the interdisciplinary potential of opera. His productions have been described as “ingenious” (New York Times), “virtuosic” (Opernwelt), “dizzyingly spectacular” (New York Magazine), and “staggering...
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Past President/Nominating Chair, Opera Volunteers International
Rhonda Sweeney is Immediate Past President and Nominating Committee Chair of OPERA VOLUNTEERS INTERNATIONAL and is a former President and Lifetime Trustee of the HOUSTON GRAND OPERA GUILD. Rhonda is also a HOUSTON GRAND OPERA Trustee serving on 3 key committees related to fundraising...
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Music Director, Chicago Opera Theater
Interested in developing new work, nurturing emerging composers, exploring unusual repertoire. Ask me about Chicago Opera Theater's new Vanguard Initiative!
General Session,
OVI
- Network ARTS-ADMIN, Devo, Edu, Fin, GD, Mktg, NWF, OVI, STF, Tech-Prod, Trustee
10:30am CDT
Partnership in Play: The Dallas Arts District
Moderators
President/CEO, OPERA AMERICA
Marc A. Scorca joined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Under his leadership, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to nearly 2,500 organizations and individuals. The organization has also administered two landmark funding initiatives in support...
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The Eugene McDermott Director, Dallas Museum of Art
Agustín Arteaga was named The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art in July 2016. Arteaga most recently served as director at the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) in Mexico City, one of Mexico’s largest and most prominent cultural institutions, presenting work from...
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Kern Wildenthal General Director & CEO, The Dallas Opera
Keith Cerny’s career spans music, technology and business. He began studying piano at the age of 10, and made his debut two years later performing Beethoven’s first piano concerto with the Berkeley Youth Orchestra. He subsequently studied Music and Physics at the University of...
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President & CEO, AT&T Performing Arts Center
Doug Curtis is the President & CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, a nonprofit organization that operates and programs three premier performance venues and a 10-acre park in the Dallas Arts District. Since joining the Center in 2002, he also has held the positions of the Center’s...
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Artistic Director, Dallas Theater Center
Kevin Moriarty is the artistic director of Dallas Theater Center, where his work as a director includes: It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman; The Who's Tommy; The Wiz; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Henry IV; The Tempest; Fat Pig; Next Fall; his original adaptation...
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Director, Nasher Sculpture Center
Jeremy Strick has been the Director of the Nasher Sculpture Center since March 2009. Mr. Strick oversees collections, exhibitions and operations at the 2.4-acre museum located in the heart of downtown Dallas’ Arts District. He has been responsible for the presentation of numerous...
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Founder and Artistic Advisor, Dallas Black Dance Theatre
ANN WILLIAMS founded Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) in 1976. Her primary focus was to have acompany of trained dancers serve as inspiration to boys and girls that had never seen a professionalAfrican American dance company. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, DBDT now serves as an...
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General Session,
OVI
- Network ARTS-ADMIN, Devo, Edu, Fin, GD, Mktg, NWF, OVI, STF, Tech-Prod, Trustee
- Learning Theme COLLAB
3:30pm CDT
Creating Change: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Moderators 
Cultural Affairs Manager (and Minister of Belonging on USDAC Cabinet), City of Oakland
Roberto Bedoya is Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland, CA, overseeing the Cultural Affairs Unit, housed in the City's Department of Economic and Workforce Development. He previously served as executive director of the Tucson Pima Arts Council, overseeing grant making...
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Executive Director, Dallas Black Dance Theatre
Ms. Drew has been with Dallas Black Dance Theatre since 1987 and has seen the company grow dramatically over her tenure from an annual operating budget of $175,000 to over $4.9 million. The company’s yearly services have grown from 30 to over 600 with national and international...
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Director of Government Affairs, OPERA America
Brandon represents the opera field in front of Congress, the White House and Federal agencies, working on a range of issues that include support for the NEA and Arts in Education programs, tax policy for nonprofits, and international exchanges issues. He previously served as Communications...
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Vice President, Lyric Unlimited, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Cayenne Harris was appointed the Director of Lyric Unlimited for Lyric Opera of Chicago in July 2012. As the lead administrator for Lyric's community engagement and audience development initiatives, Ms. Harris has played an essential role in the creation of Lyric Unlimited – its...
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Assistant Director of Marketing, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Anh is the Assistant Director of Marketing at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), overseeing all direct mail and print collateral in addition to providing key strategic support for audience building and community outreach efforts. In addition to her duties at OTSL, Anh has spoken...
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Casting Manager & Hart Institute for Women Conduct, The Dallas Opera
David Lomeli joined The Dallas Opera in July of 2014 as Artistic Coordinator. In June of 2015 he was promoted to Associate Artistic Administrator. In April of 2016, David was promoted to Casting and Hart Institute for Women Conductors Manage where he assisted Music Director Emmanuel...
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Founder and CEO, The Equity Quotient
Ms. McCord is founder and CEO of EQ, The Equity Quotient, a national training and organizational development firm dedicated to supporting non profits interested in becoming more just and equitable community partners, with equity, diversity, and inclusion as outcomes of their work...
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Artistic Director, Dallas Theater Center
Kevin Moriarty is the artistic director of Dallas Theater Center, where his work as a director includes: It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman; The Who's Tommy; The Wiz; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Henry IV; The Tempest; Fat Pig; Next Fall; his original adaptation...
Read More →
Director, AT&T Global Marketing Organization
L. Michelle Smith is a consumer insights expert who is helping one of the world's most respected Fortune 10 companies prepare for our nation's new reality-- an unwired, digitally-driven, multicultural and global society.
Michelle leads Citizenship & Sustainability efforts for the...
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General Session,
OVI
- Network ARTS-ADMIN, Devo, Edu, Fin, GD, Mktg, NWF, OVI, STF, Tech-Prod, Trustee
- Learning Theme EDI
- Live Stream Live Stream
