The Atlanta Opera Honors its Volunteers

April 10-16, 2011 was National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Non-profits all over the country honored the men and women who help us stay afloat – in many, many ways. We honored Atlanta Opera Volunteers at a reception on April 21, 2011 at The Atlanta Opera Center in Atlanta, GA. Without a doubt, The Atlanta Opera’s Volunteers are instrumental to our survival, and we are grateful for those who devote their time to The Atlanta Opera Family.

The gift of time and expertise is just as valuable as a monetary gift. Last year, Atlanta Opera volunteers contributed more than 6,000 hours! Volunteers help keep costs low and help us fulfill our mission of presenting world-class opera productions, while fostering education about this important art form.

There are many volunteer opportunities for opera-lovers in the Atlanta-area. Some are more traditional responsibilities including assisting with mailings, receptionist duties, filing, assistance at special events like Opera 101, Opera Chat, and Final Dress Rehearsals, but we also offer uncharacteristic opportunities that let our volunteers experience the day to day aspects of mounting an operatic production. Volunteers are needed to meet visiting artists at the airport and take them to their residences. This is often an artist’s first introduction to the city and The Atlanta Opera. After the set is loaded into the theatre, volunteers are needed to help set the light cues. The task involves standing and moving around on stage following the lighting director’s instructions as the cues are set. Volunteers are also asked to help monitor and coordinate chorus and principal auditions, which is always a thrill for opera lovers!

The Atlanta Opera also has an extensive archive full of historical data, media coverage, marketing materials, programs, and recordings. Volunteers review online and print media, clip, copy, catalog, and work with various departments to file company pieces that should be added to archival records. This incredibly important and time consuming responsibility is spear headed by Mary Ruth McDonald, who has created a comprehensive and organized archive that The Atlanta Opera can use as a resource, and that can ensure our legacy is properly preserved. At this year’s Volunteer Reception, we presented Mary Ruth with the Rachel Rosen Lehmann Award for her time and devotion to The Atlanta Opera.

Zurich General Director Dennis Hanthorn names Mary Ruth McDonald as recipient of the Rachel Rosen Lehmann Award. Credit: Tim Wilkerson.
In this age of digital media, The Atlanta Opera has changed a lot of its focus to how to reach audiences through social media and videos that inform and educate about opera. With the unfaltering dedication of board member and volunteer, Stewart Searle, who films, produces and post-produces all of our videos, we have expanded our online video library to comprehensively educate and inform the public using many forms of media – music, audio, and video. To date, we have had over 30,000 page views to our website! For Stewart’s incredible dedication he was presented with special recognition for his tireless efforts on behalf of The Atlanta Opera.


Stewart Searle (left) receives special recognition for his tireless work on The Atlanta Opera Video Library. Credit: Tim Wilkerson.
We, like all organizations, are understaffed for many projects that require a keen eye for detail and extra time, so we are especially grateful when a volunteer can step in and help us with incredibly important and necessary organizational work. It is not glamorous work, and it is not thrilling work, but it helps us stay organized and allows us to have quick access to information. Our 2010-2011 Volunteer of the Year, Denise Andersen, helped us with extensive filing and organizational projects that we would never have been able to do alone. She accumulated the most hours donated to The Atlanta Opera! For her time we are infinitely grateful.


Staff members Stephanie Cantillo (left) and Rae Weimer (right) congratulate Denise Andersen (center) on being the 2010-11 "Volunteer of the Year." Credit: Dallas Duncan.
Often we forget that Board Members are also volunteers. We have an exceptional board that devotes its time and resources to ensuring the future of this beloved organization. This year, we honored board member Dr. John O’Shea with the Rachel Rosen Lehmann Award for Outstanding Leadership in Fundraising. Dr. O’Shea continues to host cultivation lunches with donors, make telephone calls to thank patrons for their generous donations, and he also makes solicitation calls. Dr. O’Shea leads by example. He and his wife, Clara, are major donors to The Atlanta Opera and his passion for the art of opera and his belief in doing good things has benefitted The Atlanta Opera in more ways than can be measured. For his devotion and involvment, we are most grateful.


John O'Shea, and his wife Clara. Credit: Tim Wilkerson.
Thank you to all of our volunteers for their dedication to the art that sings. They are The Atlanta Opera’s uncompensated staff and more importantly, members of the opera family!

The Atlanta Opera Volunteers – We can’t do it without you….

Sara Frooman (right) accepts her Rachel Lehmann Memorial Award for her dedication to The Atlanta Opera.
April 10th through 16th is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Non-profits all over the country will be honoring the men and women who help us stay afloat – in many, many ways. We will be honoring Atlanta Opera Volunteers at a reception on April 21 – stay tuned for pictures!

The history of volunteerism in America is rich and complex. As long as we have been a nation focused on helping and improving the lives of others, we have had volunteer opportunities. Without a doubt, The Atlanta Opera’s Volunteers are instrumental to our survival, and we are grateful for those who devote their time to The Atlanta Opera Family.

There are many loyal volunteers who make a difference. For Sara Frooman, volunteering for The Atlanta Opera is more than just a time commitment for a worthy organization – she has a profound and inherent passion for opera and a love of the community that opera creates. She even has a very creative way of expressing this dedication… through her famous, “conversation starting” lapel pins.

In this week’s blog entry, Sara Frooman, last year’s recipient of The Rachel Lehmann Memorial Award for her dedication and devotion to The Atlanta Opera, shares with us the many reasons why she volunteers, why she will continue to volunteer, and the secrets behind… “the pins.”

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Why volunteer? To be closer to where the music is made and to give support and hospitality to the persons involved, whether in the office or on the stage. This is what "following one's bliss" means to me. If I had not been in so many other careers, this is where I would have concentrated, earlier, using my skills. Meeting and working with others who give their time is an immeasurable pleasure. I think we are always learning from each other and we have an excitement and passion about opera that I treasure. Working on a project in groups also touches on something primitive and satisfying, I think.

On a purely personal note, I have always loved being able to watch the behind the scenes process of producing operas - the moments when something goes from being art to not art, then back to art, and so forth. That happens in master-classes and rehearsals, when the stop-and-start leads to growth and beauty.

Why opera? I once heard a conductor chastise an American singer for her Italian accent: southern rather than northern. She was letter-perfect in her music, was utterly prepared in her role, but this matter was not tolerated. That opened my eyes to how profoundly hard it is to do what these artists do and to how much respect they are owed for seeking, and giving us, that perfection. Bravo, indeed!

When opera? As a child of about six, I discovered how our big cabinet Zenith radio worked on the phonograph side. After a few false starts with the controls, and possibly destroying a few of our one-sided Victor Red Seal discs, I learned about inserting fresh needles and dropping the tone arm softly. Something wondrous came out of the grille-cloth: opera. The tone was a bit tinny, but who knew, then? Caruso and Galli-Curci were singing arias and I was hooked; the hairs on my arms went up at the gorgeous sounds of the human voice.

Later, the Columbia Record Club and I had a lovely thing going. The culture at that time brought Voice of Firestone and Bell Telephone Hour over the radio, giving the pleasure that, perhaps, only one who is truly vocally-challenged can know. An aunt in NYC took me to see Carmen at the old Met. Later, I started ushering for Chicago Lyric Opera, walking home on air after hearing Leontyne Price as Liu and Aida, Cossotto as Amneris and Eboli, and all the great male singers of the '60s.

When I lived in Los Angeles, I was moved by a young tenor named Eduardo Villa who performed at the Met auditions. I had the pleasure of discovering how far he had developed, years later, when I visited family in Atlanta and heard him in an Atlanta Opera production of Otello. Following the careers of those who have devoted their lives to this art has been fascinating to me. They don't know I cheer for them, but I do. In various forms, I think a spirit of hospitality is at the heart of everything in life that is good.

Sara Frooman wears her pin from this season's production of La bohème.
The pins? I'm a marketer at heart, having had successful businesses, and a history of producing advertising and editorial illustrations that told a story in one image. I also have a love of charming jewelry. So, before every production I search on eBay to find figural ornaments with themes from the upcoming production, and put the elements together. I wear the pins (and make others for staff use, should they wish) for the powerful effect of person-to-person conversations stimulated by onlookers' reactions. I carry Atlanta Opera handouts and materials and invite those persons to share the excitement of great music with us. In fact, while in a restaurant writing this, the waitress commented on my Così fan tutte pins, so I gave her the handout and we had a lovely conversation, recalling her best experiences. We shared this thought: opera is the only art that has moved me to tears.

Next? Gasoline is my drug of choice, so I hope to continue driving to the Center to help as needed to advance the opera’s mission, and to the airport, to give arriving artists the warmest and most personalized greeting possible, so they will remember The Atlanta Opera highly among the places they would always prefer to return.