Opera Notices

I have always wanted to go to Chicago, and last week my dreams were realized when I attended the annual Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference. As a die hard arts enthusiast and fundraiser I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Architecture and art and jazz oh my! I made sure to explore all the goodies of the Windy City, but the biggest standouts were meeting colleagues passionate for the organizations they work for and listening to these three key note speakers:

His name is Blake Mycoskie. He is the CEO for a shoe company. It’s for profit but is changing capitalism as we know it by its one-to-one business model: for every shoe you buy they donate a pair to a child in need.



His name is Bill Clinton. He used to be the President of the United States. Now he spends his time raising awareness and funds for social and environmental issues.



Her name is Queen Latifah. She is a rapper. And Oscar nominee, artist, philanthropist… She uses her star power to gain support for everything ranging from the arts to education.





What an experience! A tremendous time of storytelling further validating my chosen profession. Great conversations, great food, great city.

And with my sugar high, the plane took off I couldn’t help but hum: “…this is my kind of town, Chicago is…” but really there’s no place like home. Go Canucks!

- Amanda Burrows, Development Coordinator, Vancouver Opera

I was fortunate enough to attend a conference this month, the 2011 National Arts Marketing and Development Conference at the Kimmel Center on the campus of New York University.

Although I’ve been to New York a couple times before, I find that I discover new parts of the city each time. Previous trips included stops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Centre, Broadway, and some amazing restaurants. (Particular standouts were Pastis in the meatpacking district and DBGB, one of Daniel Boulud’s many restaurants in NY) As I would have much less time on this trip, I planned ahead and booked a ticket for a concert on my first night in the city.

One of my favourite violinists, Joshua Bell, was playing the amazing Bruch Concerto at the historic Carnegie Hall. Needless to say, it was breathtaking and even with the extremely high expectations I had going in, I was not disappointed.

It would have been difficult for the rest of the trip to measure up to what I experienced on that first night, but it is New York, and they don’t call it the Big Apple for nothing. Other highlights from the trip included a heavenly stop at Saks 5th avenue, people watching at Washington Square Park, a couple slices from Joe’s Pizza, and a wonderful performance of Billy Elliott on Broadway. (Thanks TKTS booth!)

Being in a city with such a huge assortment of choices, not just in food and shopping, but in its culture, induced great feelings of envy. The number of concerts, events, and museums you could go to on any given day, was just staggering.

Combined with some amazing sessions at the conference with other arts colleagues from all over the country, this trip was quite simply inspiring. I can’t wait to go back and see what I discover next time.

- Jennifer Lee, Marketing Manager