Opera Volunteers International

OVI Conference in Santa Fe with Charles MacKay and Natalie Dessay

OVI Conference Brochure

OVI Conference Registration Form

(888) 666-1410, Ext.109

Thursday, July 9th:

• 5:30pm: A welcome reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres for Conference attendees on the patio of the beautiful Hotel Santa Fe in downtown Santa Fe.

Friday, July 10th:

Charles MacKay

• Breakfast on the patio with SFO General Director, Charles MacKay, as Keynote Speaker, followed by “Volunteer Highlights”.
• First Conference Session, led by SFO’s Education and Community Programs Director, Andrea Fellows Walters, discussing aspects of opera education.
• General membership meeting and Awards Luncheon.
• Free time to explore Santa Fe culture, shopping and dining.

Saturday, July 11th:

Natalie Dessay

• Breakfast on the patio.
• Two morning Conference Sessions on aspects of volunteerism.
• Afternoon: For Grantor’s Circle members, enjoy a special house and garden tour with wine and hors d’oeuvres in one of Santa Fe’s finest homes.
• Afternoon: Free time to explore Santa Fe culture, shopping, and dining.
• Evening: At The Santa Fe Opera, experience one of internationally-famous soprano Natalie Dessay’s first performances in Verdi’s La traviata, preceded by cocktails and dinner at the La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa.

Tickets in Section 3 may be ordered with your registration or order your own tickets (available now) from the SFO Box office: phone: 800-280-4654 or on the web at: http://santafeopera.org

Hotel Santa Fe

Optional Programs:

Thursday, July 9th: An all-day trip to Taos and Chimayo.  A pre-conference opportunity to visit artists’ studios, the ancient Taos Pueblo, and returning for the Conference opening reception at 5:30pm.

Friday evening, July 10th: Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, preceded by a backstage tour and an elegant buffet dinner in the new Dapples Pavilion. Tickets in Section 3 may be ordered with your registration or directly from SFO at any time.

OVI Conference Brochure

OVI Conference Registration Form

Opera Companies Need Volunteers, Part 2

By Rose Betty Williams

Support groups provide an excellent source for prospective donors and an even better source for innovative and successful fundraising campaigns.

Opera companies should give their support groups a chance to run with their ideas.

Who knows the pulse of the community better than the volunteer base? They know what works, what’s in and usually who to go to for whatever is needed.

Given respect and shown trust, opera volunteers can be superb ambassadors for their companies. Their enthusiasm and their “insider knowledge” about productions become “hooks” to bring in more subscribers and future donors.

Conversely, they can also be the worst ambassadors.
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Opera Companies Need Volunteers to Survive

In this two-part series, OVI Board Member Rose Betty Williams analyzes the failure of Opera Pacific and its relationship with volunteers

By Rose Betty Williams

Does the demise of the 23-year old Opera Pacific (click here for original article) predict trouble for other opera companies? Possibly, but perhaps the better question is: What can opera companies learn from Opera Pacific?

“Volunteer programs must be fun to do,” says Houston Grand Opera Association trustee and OVI board member Christa Cooper. “If they are not, people will drift away; and discounting tickets may bring in crowds, but not sustainable subscribers.”

Many opera companies count on a handful of donors to keep their companies viable, but in this current economic downturn, budgets are stretched and donors either will not or cannot write bigger and bigger checks.

Donor fatigue is real.
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OVI Recognizes Mary Earl for Her Opera Efforts

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Guild member Mary Earl recently received the Opera Volunteers International Partners in Excellence Award which honors member organizations’ most valuable volunteers. The award recognizes individuals for their exceptional contribution to opera and honors support groups for completing outstanding projects and attaining special goals.
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OVI Board members meet in Tampa to warm up

What is satisfying, informative and entertaining (and warming)?

The answer: a February OVI Board meeting in sunny Tampa, Florida.

From landing at one of the country’s more pleasant airports on the outskirts of Tampa, to closing good-byes with plans to conduct business again during the fall color season in Seattle, Washington, the weekend was a typical, first-rate OVI Board meeting event.

In the picture is president Fern Grauer, talking with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, while Sherrill Milnes looks on. Continue Reading »

I was encouraged by a headline in the February 11, 2008 Houston Chronicle: “Companies increasingly support “do-gooders” with time, money and organizing efforts as they aim to retain “Gen Y” workers with different priorities”. Although I am definitely NOT a Generation Y person, I am proud that ExxonMobil, the company from which I retired, has always valued and supported employee and retiree volunteer activity as well as financial contributions to cultural and educational organizations.
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It’s that time again. Time for OVI Support Groups to think about the value of their outstanding volunteers and how to recognize and acknowledge them. Is there someone in your organization who has contributed outstanding service to your opera company and/or your support group? Why not nominate him or her for one of our awards? Is your group celebrating a milestone event or a special accomplishment? Why not nominate it for an honor? Opera Volunteers International’s Partners in Excellence Award pays tribute to these exceptional people and occasions.
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Opera Volunteers International has a few sets of opera tickets available for a modest contribution.

Vancouver Opera: 2 tickets to Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) and I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) on November 13 or 15, 2007. Valued at $198USD, these wonderful seats can be had for your donation of $120USD.

Pittsburgh Opera: 2 tickets for Elixir of Love (Donizetti) on November 13, 2007. Valued at $170, enjoy this opportunity for a $100 donation.

Salt Lake City: 2 tickets for The Utah Symphony’s performance of “Ancient Voices of Children“ (Crumb) March 13, 2008. Valued at $80, consider a contribution of $40.

Salt Lake City: 2 tickets for Utah Opera’s La Cenerentola (Rossini) on March 24, 2008. Valued at $80, they can be enjoyed for a donation of $40.

Enjoy great opera and support OVI!
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Take me out to the opera

While growing up on Long Island, I enjoyed listening to NY Yankees games on the radio. Before each game, some guy would sing the national anthem. Over a decade later, after I had become a full-fledged opera fanatic, I found out that the “guy” was Metropolitan Opera star, Robert Merrill, himself a diehard Yankee fan.
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Luciano Pavarotti

1935-2007