The Beginnings of Boston Opera Collaborative
Boston Opera Collaborative (BOC) was founded in October of 2005 by Katherine Drexel, Markus Hauck and Brooke Larimer, three emerging artists with a passion for opera and a desire to find an outlet for their training and skills. These three graduates from notable schools in the Boston area were dismayed at the lack of performance opportunities for young artists in Boston. After much deliberation, hundreds of cups of coffee and a squabble or two, they decided to use their skills and performance experience to bring more opportunities to other emerging artists in the area. Thus, they quietly introduced BOC.
As the group evolved, the interim leaders decided that opera for emerging artists should be run by the same people it catered to. Opera singers should not only be well-versed in vocal technique, stagecraft and languages; they should also develop their business skills, learning how to market a production, raise funds, balance a budget and work as a team. BOC, conceived as a small performing group, suddenly blossomed into an organization designed for emerging artists to hone both their performance and administrative skills.
BOC's introduction to the New England classical music scene came in January
of 2006 with outreach question-and-answer sessions held at Boston Conservatory
and MIT. In its first official membership meeting on January 29, the group
inducted 17 new members. On February 14, BOC members performed a fundraising
concert, Steal Me, Sweet Thief: A Valentine's Serenade of Operatic Love Arias
and Duets
.
Like many summer workshops and young artist programs, BOC aims to improve the performance skills of its singers, but it also hopes to prepare them for the business of opera. We are steadily working toward corporate, non-profit status, planning numerous performance events for our members, and reaching out to the Greater Boston community.
Additionally, we would like to thank artists Mike Belle, Alisa Cassola and Stephanie Mann for their many contributions to BOC during its formation; without their help BOC would not exist. Your guidance and inspiration have been invaluable. Thank you for your time, passion and energy.
-- Katherine Drexel, Markus Hauck, Brooke Larimer, Co-Founders of Boston Opera Collaborative
