Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES SUMMER 2015 SAI-NATIONAL.ORG 4 tickets. e people are the reflection of their community. When we looked at Asheville, we found a really strong sense of community. We kept coming back to Asheville as the potential site. It met all of the criteria. We felt that Asheville really had it all." During the period that Mr. Starkey spent in New York and on the road, he took time to think about where he was and what he wanted to do. "I came back to the Asheville area in 1998, to spend time with my parents who lived in Black Mountain, and that's when I met Dr. Robert C. Moffatt, a well-respected oncology surgeon in the area who loves classical music and opera. He became my champion. He gave me a lot of encouragement and support, and by having that champion, I was able to put the idea of starting an opera company in Asheville into action." With this extra push, Asheville's new opera company had its first meeting in the fall of 1998, and the first event in April 1999, to see if the community would respond. Angela Simpson, a dramatic soprano with the Metropolitan Opera, performed with Starkey in a joint recital, and attendance and audience response was very strong. e company used the money it raised from that event to bring in Susan Dunn, a Verdi soprano also with the Metropolitan Opera and a faculty professor at Duke University. "We considered these two events to be our first season, and that's how Asheville Lyric Opera was born." e season continued with La Bohème, ALO's first full production in conjunction with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra at omas Wolfe Auditorium, in 2000, and it was a huge success even when the odds were not in ALO's favor. ough the show was almost sold out, the unexpected happened: a snow storm hit the morning of the performance. Word spread that the local emergency management was considering declaring the city a disaster area, closing the omas Wolfe Auditorium as it was housed by the Civic Center, a city building; and the show would be cancelled. With very few alternatives, the show was re-scheduled for the next night with hopes that the weather situation would be improved. "e airport was closed, holding the performers in Asheville an extra day, so really, it worked out perfectly," Starkey remembers. "Nineteen hundred people showed up at the performance the next night! It was through the roof!" Blown in by a cold, snowy wind, and against difficult odds, opera arrived in Asheville. "at's when everything became official," Mr. Starkey said. "I was already the artistic director, but the board of directors felt we needed someone to be full-time, so they appointed me as the general director, too. I had a major life and career decision to make. I had contracts with opera companies and I had just gotten married. So I felt in my heart, I started this, I need to stay with it. I didn't have a business background, but I knew music business, so I gave up my contracts, gave up my apartment in New York, kept the wife, and moved to Asheville in 2000." As the artistic style and quality grew throughout the seasons, so did the audience recognition throughout the country, especially in the Southeastern region. In season five, the company started a touring program aer it was inspired by a joint production with the South Carolina Opera Company. e annual tours have taken the company from Indiana to Florida, and they have worked with a wide array of organizations, including universities, symphonies, opera companies and theatre companies. To this day, the company continues to tour, a tradition that makes the company incredibly unique compared to the majority of opera companies in the country that have ended their tour programs. e Summer-Young Artist Program is offered over the summer from early July through early August. As part of the training, singers will present a program of opera scenes on tour throughout Western Carolina. In the first three weeks of the program, five to six singers will work intensively with three program staff on program music, arias, and individual vocal development. is will include 2-3 hourly voice lessons per week, group rehearsals on music, staging rehearsals for a touring program of scenes and arias, and professional development (resume, headshot, career development, etc). e final week of the program will include the majority of the opera scenes tour, recitals, and concerts, as well as continued individual study. Previous participants in the program have commented that the large amount of individual attention was the highlight of their experience with us. Additionally, the program is run by a year-round opera company and taught by staff members that work in professional productions with the company regularly. Previous participants have gone on to sing in the Metropolitan Opera chorus, Aspen Festival, Central City Opera, and other important organizations. Collegiate or professional internships are available in arts administration, music business, and arts management. Administrative internships are offered during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. — ashevillelyric.org, brevardmusic.org, PAN PIPES archives, and press releases OUR NORTH CAROLINA HOME Asheville Lyric Opera The Asheville Lyric Opera's 2014 production of Don Giovanni. MUSIC continued from page 3

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