Mission Statement
Mission Statement
Opéra Louisiane presents high quality, professional operatic performances, showcasing internationally acclaimed talent for:
- Culturally enriching our community
- Educating our school children
- Providing professional performance opportunities for Louisiana artists.
Vision Statement
Opéra Louisiane will be a regionally recognized, financially viable, professional opera company showcasing internationally acclaimed talent and providing career opportunities for Louisiana artists.
Value Statement
Opéra Louisiane holds itself accountable to the highest standards of integrity, quality, and professionalism.
Board of Directors
Officers
Robert Grayson, Founder; Chair, Voice/Opera Division at LSU
Sue Rainer, Chair; Past President, Board of Directors for LPB
George P. Thompson, III, Vice Chair; Waddell and Reed, Inc.
Peter Barrios, Treasurer; CPA
Dr. Ron Garay, secretary; Manship School of Mass Communications, Louisiana State University
Board of Directors
Edward R. Clarke; Lohengrin Group
Dr. Peter Grant*, Development Chair; Albemarle Corporation, retired
Enrique Hurtado; Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Abba J. Kastin, M.D.;Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Alice Kronenberger; Past -President, The Baton Rouge Music Teachers Association
Carole M. Marshall, Immediate Past Chair; CEO, Traffic Scan Network and Shadow Broadcasting, retired
Ken Nelson; Engineer, Dow Chemical, retired/consultant
Rochelle Ott*, Education Chair; School Teacher, retired
Kay Radlauer*, Marketing Chair: Founder / President of KayRad & Co., Inc., Social Service and Non-Profit Activist
Gwen Redding; Past Director of Engineering Services and Minority Programs in LSU’s College of Engineering
Roger Richard; CEO / Port Director, Port of Baton Rouge, retired
Rita Satawa; Community Volunteer
Todd Schexnayder*, Governance Chair; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana
Deborah Dunlevy Todd; The Deborah Todd Agency
Michael D. Williams; CEO, Merrill Lynch, retired
Advisory Board
Beth Courtney; President and CEO, Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Jennifer Eller; Director of Development, LSU Department of Theatre
Kori Jennings; Young Artist Representative
Laurence D. Kaptain; Dean, College of Music and Dramatic Arts, Louisiana State University
Edith Kirkpatrick; Music Educator, Louisiana Board of Regents, retired
Dr. Howard Kisner; Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
Timothy Muffitt; Music Director, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra
Huel Perkins; Past Member, Board of Advisors, J.W. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship
Program; Professor Emeritus of Humanities, LSU, retired
Freddie Pitcher; Chancellor, Southern University Law Center; Judge, retired
Harvey Schwartzberg; Treasurer, Foundation for Historic Louisiana & The Old State Capitol Associates
John Turner; Past President, Baton Rouge Area Volunteers for Opera; Board, Houston Grand Opera; Turner Industries
Amanda Martin Vincent; Past Director of Development for Opera Louisiane
Dr. Richard Webb; Dean, Southern University College of Arts and Humanities, retired
Staff
Leanne P. Clement, D.M.A.
Executive Director
Dr. Leanne Clement is a graduate of The School of Music at Louisiana State University where she also received her Master of Music degree in vocal performance. Prior to moving to Louisiana, Leanne received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Leanne began working part-time for Opéra Louisiane in the fall of 2008 and later became the Director of Development and Administration in January of 2009. Although singing is a great passion for Leanne, she finds her work at Opéra Louisiane to be a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be involved in opera from a different perspective.
Kathryn Drake Hedlund, D. M.A.
Associate Director
Dr. Kathryn Hedlund recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Louisiana State University in Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy. She received her Bachelor of Music in Voice at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Shirley Verrett. She began working part-time for Opéra Louisiane in May of 2009 as Administrative Assistant. She was promoted to Associate Director in September of 2011. Kathryn was also a participant in Opéra Louisiane’s Young Artist Program, starring in The Magic Flute as Pamina in 2008. She returned to the Opéra Louisiane mainstage in 2011, singing Marguerite in Faust. In addition to her work at Opéra Louisiane, she also maintains a private voice studio in Baton Rouge.
History
Opéra Louisiane — History in the Making
Opéra Louisiane was founded in March of 2007 with a few simple goals in mind: to produce opera performances of the highest level in Louisiana’s capital city, to offer a Young People’s opera free to school children every year, to utilize the great musical and artistic talent of Louisiana singers and musicians, and to take a leadership role in nurturing young talent through our Young Artist’s Program. Shortly after its inception, Opéra Louisiane and LPB produced the Opéra Louisiane Gala concert featuring international opera stars at the Baton Rouge River Center. In the fall of 2008 Opéra Louisiane, through a generous grant from Mayor Kip Holden and the City Parish of East Baton Rouge and other significant sponsors including the Pennington Foundation, The Arts Council of Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, produced its first Young People’s Opera, Mozart’s The Magic Flute. These productions remain successful, allowing over 3,500 Baton Rouge area 4th, 5th and 6th graders to see a fully staged opera for free each year. Opéra Louisiane, through its Young People’s Opera Program and outreach events, endeavors to help fulfill the need for music programs in schools that have been cut due to budget constraints.
Along with our focus on education, Opéra Louisiane strives to offer performances of the highest quality featuring professional artists that will draw audiences from across state lines. As the Capital City’s Opera Company we are promoting tourism to our city and state. When audiences travel to Baton Rouge to see an opera, they stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, and shop at our malls and boutiques. In short, our audiences are spending their money in Baton Rouge to boost our city’s economy. Opéra Louisiane is a fiscally responsible company that promotes the level of cultural diversity in Baton Rouge and capitalizes on Louisiana’s strong musical heritage.
“The arts are essential to the economic growth of every vibrant Metropolitan city.
Opéra Louisiane provides a piece that is missing from the arts portfolio of Baton Rouge.”
-John Davies, Baton Rouge Area Foundation