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| NOVEMBER 4, 2015 Washington, DC - Opera Lafayette announces the appointment of William J. H. Chapman as General Manager, effective December 1, 2015. With an extensive resume spanning more than two decades, Mr. Chapman brings his expertise in the fields of opera and classical music to Opera Lafayette, which now enters its 21st season. |
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| "The Opera Lafayette artistic family warmly welcomes Will Chapman as our new General Manager," said Opera Lafayette Board Chair Chris O'Flinn. "That he has chosen to manage our Company as we begin our third decade, fills us with both pride and anticipation . We all look forward to Will and Artistic Director Ryan Brown forging a dynamic partnership that will expand our audience and enable an ambitious artistic program."
Opera Lafayette will be Mr. Chapman's third leadership position with a nonprofit arts organization. Most recently he served as Vice President of Ricardo Barreto Cultural Consultants, advising organizations such as the Handel and Haydn Society, ArtsBoston, Actors' Shakespeare Project, and the Poets' Theatre. Prior to this position, Mr. Chapman served as as Executive Director of Monadnock Music. Mr. Chapman restructured the company and increased audience participation and fundraising dramatically. While there, he produced the first fully staged operas for the festival in many years, including Dominick Argento's The Boor and A Water Bird Talk(2012), and Ned Rorem's Our Town (2013).
From 2000 through 2010, Mr. Chapman worked for Opera Boston as Operations Manager, then CFO, and finally Director of Development and Marketing with responsibility for all fundraising and marketing activities for the company. Under his stewardship, the company quadrupled in size, increased the subscription base to almost 50% of capacity, and garnered national and international critical notice. In 2010, the company mounted the world premiere of Zhou Long's Madame White Snake, which won a Pulitzer Prize.
Of his appointment to the position of General Manager, Mr. Chapman said "I am very excited and honored to be joining Opera Lafayette at this critical moment in its history. Under the leadership of Founder, Conductor and Artistic Director Ryan Brown, the company has achieved great artistic distinction through its fascinating programming while maintaining a sound financial footing. Seasons in Washington, DC and New York, in addition to tours like those recently to Versailles, offer a splendid opportunity for growth and add to the challenge and appeal of the job. I look forward to working with the Board and Maestro Brown to take Opera Lafayette to even higher prominence."
Conductor and Artistic Director Ryan Brown notes "Hiring Will is a crucial step in Opera Lafayette's growth. He is our first General Manager with extensive experience in opera management, and I'm excited to work with him to realize our ambitious goals for the future."
Prior to joining Opera Boston, Mr. Chapman was Audience Development Manager at Boston Lyric Opera, after careers in music retailing with HMV in the US and banking with Citigroup in Hong Kong, Athens, New York, and the Middle East. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he holds a BA in Classics (magna cum laude) from Brown University and an MA in Regional Studies-East Asia (China) from Harvard University. |
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